Encourage Your Child's School to Go Green

Is your local school building green? When your child goes back to school this fall, he'll be learning a lot-hopefully about the importance of environmental conservation and cutting CO2 emissions. But what is the school building teaching him? Recent research by the U.S. Energy Information Administration found that buildings are the biggest source of carbon emissions in the United States (source). According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) fact page, schools and other buildings account for the following natural resource waste in the U.S.:

• 70% of electricity consumption,
• 39% of energy use,
• 39% of all carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions,
• 40% of raw materials use,
• 30% of waste output (136 million tons annually), and
• 12% of potable water consumption.

If your kid's school converted to a green building, it would save millions of dollars in energy, giving the school district extra money to pay for textbooks, more teachers and better after-school programs. All the while, it would be saving the environment.

Most likely, your children's school was built long before the advent of environmentally-friendly architecture. That doesn't mean it's too late for your school to make a difference. Your school could easily convert its infrastructure to a more eco-friendly design, and it could install a policy directing all future buildings and remodeling projects to be certified green buildings.

However, your local school won't take up the green cause if it doesn't hear from you. Costs can be prohibitive, as well as the chore of going through extra paperwork and verifying additional law compliance.

To help encourage schools across the country to start using green buildings that conserve energy, cut back on carbon emissions, and save money, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has created the Green Schools Advocate Program. The USGBC Green Schools Advocate Program trains volunteers-yes, volunteers such as local families like YOU-to campaign and encourage their local schools to start thinking of eco-friendly building options.

How You Can Make A Difference: Encourage Your School to Use Green Buildings

There are numerous buildings and schools that recognize the benefits of being certified green, as can be seen in a listing published on the USGBC's website. These include schools in Washington, D.C., Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins, Colorado, and Clearview Elementary in Hanover, Pennsylvania. With your help, your school could easily be listed here.

Join the USGBC's Green Schools Advocate Program. Once you join, start pushing your local school officials to consider ways that your child's school can implement environmentally-friendly conservation measures. You can also take environmental green building classes to teach you practical, green ways to make a local difference in your community.