SUSTAINABILITY
Scotch College in Partnership with Josh Byrne & Associates: School Sustainability Strategy
The College is embarking on the implementation of an ambitious and exciting college-wide sustainability strategy and has engaged leading local sustainability consultants Josh Byrne & Associates (JBA) to help us achieve this outcome. This will be a key step for Scotch College as it seeks to establish itself as a leading school in the field of sustainability, and was only possible with the generous support and funding of the Parents Association. Of course, as with all challenging initiatives meaningful change in an organisation as diverse and as established as ours, this project is only going to be as successful as the sum of all our contributions. It will undoubtedly take time and persistence to achieve. You may come across Josh and his team over the next few months as they get about the school seeking a deeper understanding of how the school operates and they may seek your input on some matters, and conversely you may wish to ask some questions of them. Please make them feel welcome and your assistance is greatly appreciated. An initial meeting of key stakeholders is scheduled for Monday, 9 September. We will keep you updated on progress with this exciting initiative in the weeks and months ahead.
Plastic is NOT Fantastic
Think about it. Why would you make something that you're going to use for a few minutes out of a material that's basically going to last forever, and you're just going to throw it away. What's up with that?"
Jeb Berrier, BagIt Movie
Together Scotch College and LAPG are making their small contributions towards a decreasing waste and generating a smaller carbon footprint. Single use and disposable plastics are one of the greatest source of plastic pollution, on land and in the ocean. Reduce, Reuse, Recyle and REFUSE is a global strategic initiative aimed at encouraging people to end their dependence in single use and disposable plastics, and to reduce their overall plastic footprint. And so Scotch College in partnership with their catering suppliers LAPG recently introduced plastic free lunches. Bright lime green durable but non-breakable melamine plates were purchased with the generous assistance of the Scotch College Staff Association. LAPG's Catering Manager, Mr Blake Hammond, and Scotch staff worked together to implement this small change that packs a big punch. The attached poster sheds some light on how it is being rolled out. Already in the initial stages the spin off benefits are evident. The dollar savings from less packaging means more money for more food. The reduced packaging waste has made the common rooms more inviting and staff have found that there is an increased conviviality around 'breaking bread' together. This is a simple yet effective example of sustainability in action: working together as a community to improve processes in an environmental, economic and social sense. In a nutshell it is about contributing to make things better than they currently are. We can all play our part, no matter how small, in reducing our carbon footprint and landfill.
