GATE // School Managers Quiz
Área III: Envisioning Sustainable Futures
Feedback and Tips
Basic Level
Description
You are beginning to recognise the importance of preparing your school for future sustainability challenges. At this stage, envisioning sustainable futures may appear in isolated projects or staff-led initiatives. Planning and decision-making still mostly follow traditional paths, with limited integration of futures thinking, adaptability, or innovation. You may be exploring how to involve staff and students in future-oriented discussions or how to build partnerships that support this. This is a foundational stage where awareness is growing and first steps are being taken toward embedding this Area into school culture and leadership practices.
Advanced Level
Description
You are actively working to make futures thinking part of your school’s development. You encourage projects and teaching approaches that promote adaptability, creativity, and collaboration across subjects. You support staff in exploring new ways of thinking and guide the school in responding flexibly to emerging challenges. Futures literacy is reflected in planning processes, project work, and some partnerships. You are developing systems and cultures that promote whole-school engagement with this Area, connecting it to other aspects of sustainability. You show a clear commitment to building the school’s capacity to explore and shape sustainable futures.
Expert Level
Description
You lead your school in embedding envisioning sustainable futures into all areas of planning, teaching, and community engagement. Futures thinking, adaptability, and exploratory approaches are deeply integrated into school culture, curriculum, infrastructure, and partnerships. You foster collaborative visioning processes with students, staff, families, and external actors, and ensure these ideas shape school-wide decisions. You model resilience and openness to innovation, supporting others in navigating change. Your leadership enables cross-area integration of sustainability competences and supports a systemic, inclusive approach to shaping sustainable futures. Your school is recognised as a proactive, future-focused learning community.
Tips to raise your level
level basic TIPS
To strengthen this Area, you might consider:
Foster a shared vision of sustainability across the school
You might want to begin by engaging your entire school community in creating a shared vision for the future of sustainability. For example, Sainte-Bernadette Establishment (Belgium) involved students and staff in creating projects focused on environmental sustainability, such as waste reduction campaigns. You can facilitate workshops with staff, students, and even local community members to brainstorm and develop a vision of what a sustainable future for your school looks like, ensuring that all stakeholders feel ownership of the process. This collaborative effort will lay the foundation for future-oriented sustainability initiatives.
Try this: Host a vision-building session involving students, teachers, families, and staff. Ask: What should our sustainable school look like in 2030? Use drawings, posters, or digital boards to co-create a shared “Sustainability Vision Map” that can guide decisions and inspire new initiatives.
Launch small-scale, future-focused sustainability projects
Consider implementing long-term sustainability projects with your students that focus on tackling future environmental challenges. Escola Secundária de Estarreja (Portugal), for example, worked on initiatives to reduce plastic waste and create eco-friendly school environments. You can encourage students to design projects that envision the future of your school, such as developing sustainable energy systems, creating green school spaces, or implementing resource-efficient practices that could be scaled up over time. These projects not only foster innovation but also connect students with real-world sustainability challenges.
Try this: Invite students to co-design a long-term project around a future challenge, like greener transport, school gardens, or smart resource use. Celebrate their ideas at a “Day for Sustainable Futures”, where projects are shared with families and local partners.
Begin aligning sustainability with school-wide goals
You may want to align your school’s strategic planning with long-term sustainability objectives. In Carl-Severing-Berufskolleg (Germany), sustainability was integrated into long-term institutional planning, resulting in projects like solar energy installations. You could begin by introducing sustainability as a key objective in your school’s long-term strategic planning, ensuring that future projects and policies prioritize environmental, social, and economic sustainability in line with your school’s broader vision.
Try this: Introduce a simple sustainability section in your school’s development plan. Choose 2–3 priority areas (e.g. energy, food, waste) and set one milestone per area for the school year. Share progress with staff and students regularly.
Connect with local stakeholders for shared future visions
Building on partnerships, Junior High School of Gera (Greece) collaborated with local authorities to enhance community sustainability efforts. You might consider expanding your network by forging partnerships with local municipalities, environmental NGOs, and businesses to collaborate on future-focused sustainability projects. These collaborations could involve joint efforts on climate change mitigation, waste management solutions, or sustainable urban planning, with students playing a role in contributing ideas for the future.
Try this: Reach out to a local municipality, environmental NGO, or business to co-develop a small initiative (e.g. school green zones, bike access, or energy awareness). Let students co-present the results to local stakeholders during your public sustainability day.
Create a simple sustainability action plan with clear milestones
You might consider developing a simple sustainability action plan that includes clear and achievable milestones. This will help guide your school’s sustainability journey and provide a framework for measuring progress. For example, Wrocław International School (Poland) started their sustainability work by setting clear goals for their Eco-School program, which focused on waste reduction and energy efficiency. You could begin by setting short-term goals, such as reducing waste or improving energy efficiency in your school and track your progress toward those goals. Over time, this plan can evolve into a more comprehensive strategy as you gather experience and support from your school community.
Try this: Create a basic action plan with a team of students and staff. Set three short-term goals (like “reduce paper by 20%,” “launch a no-waste lunch day,” or “increase green spaces”), assign roles, and monitor progress together. Display updates in a public space.
Advanced basic TIPS
To strengthen this Area, you might consider:
Integrate long-term sustainability into your school’s mission
You might want to make sustainability a key part of your school’s mission statement and strategic goals. As seen in Wrocław International School (Poland), where sustainability was integrated into the core ethos of the school, you can lead the development of a mission that prioritizes future-oriented sustainability, including climate action, social equity, and responsible resource management. This would ensure that sustainability becomes an intrinsic part of the school’s culture and all decision-making processes, both short-term and long-term.
Try this: Review your school’s mission statement and development plan with staff and student representatives. Ask: Where does our commitment to the future appear? Update the documents to include clear sustainability priorities (e.g. climate, equity, resources) and display them visibly in school communications.
Promote future-ready learning through real sustainability projects
Consider embedding forward-thinking sustainability projects into your school curriculum. IES EL PALMERAL (Spain) integrated agricultural innovation and sustainability training, offering students hands-on opportunities to think about sustainable agriculture and its future. You might develop school-wide projects where students work on solutions that address future environmental challenges, such as the design of a circular economy for your school or contributing to the development of future-focused green technologies.
Try this: Launch a school-wide project week focused on “2035 Solutions” where each class contributes to a long-term sustainability theme (e.g. circular economy, food systems, or renewable energy). Invite experts to mentor and provide feedback.
Build long-term partnerships with government, universities, and local industry
Consider partnering with local governments, universities, and industry leaders to create sustainability projects with long-term impact. In Evening Junior High School of Mytilene (Greece), the school worked closely with local authorities to implement sustainability initiatives. Similarly, you could build lasting partnerships with organizations focused on sustainability, such as energy companies or local environmental agencies, to co-create solutions for the future of the school, whether it’s through shared infrastructure projects or joint educational programs.
Try this: Initiate a collaboration with a local government agency, environmental NGO, or university to co-develop an infrastructure or learning project, like rainwater harvesting, carbon audits, or citizen science monitoring. Make the project multiyear and student-inclusive.
Develop sustainability leadership pathways for students
Think about offering students opportunities to take on leadership roles in envisioning and implementing sustainable practices at your school. Gymnasium Ismaning (Germany) created a leadership role for students by implementing “Sustainability Ambassadors” in the school. You could expand on this idea by developing a student leadership program that involves them in strategic planning for the school’s sustainable future, such as engaging them in discussions on renewable energy solutions or zero-carbon campus plans, helping them take ownership of sustainability initiatives.
Try this: Create a “Mission for a Sustainable Future” led by a student leadership group. Use input from sustainability projects throughout the year. Update it annually with new commitments and showcase it during a public school event.
Regularly evaluate and adapt sustainability planning
To ensure that your school remains focused on future sustainability, consider implementing a system for regularly evaluating your sustainability practices and adapting them for long-term impact. Sainte-Bernadette Establishment (Belgium) created regular audits to assess the progress of their sustainability initiatives. You can establish a review mechanism that allows your school to assess its sustainability goals and track achievements, identify areas for improvement, and ensure that sustainability remains integrated into the school’s long-term planning.
Try this: Set up a yearly sustainability review process involving students, teachers, and admin staff. Include visual tracking tools (dashboards, posters) to show progress on key goals. Use the results to refine priorities in your development plan.
Expert basic TIPS
To strengthen this Area, you might consider:
Lead the institutional transformation toward sustainability
As a school leader, you are in a prime position to lead your school’s transformation towards sustainability. Carl-Severing-Berufskolleg (Germany) is a great example where school leadership played a central role in integrating sustainability into all aspects of school life, from curriculum to infrastructure. You might take the lead in designing and implementing a comprehensive, long-term sustainability strategy that addresses all dimensions of your school’s operation, from energy systems to the curriculum, student engagement, and community partnerships, all with a focus on the future.
Try this: Create a whole-school sustainability task force involving staff, students, and external partners. Develop a multi-year strategy that aligns policies, pedagogy, and school culture with your long-term sustainability vision. Use it as a foundation for external funding or accreditation.
Innovate school infrastructure for a sustainable future
You may want to prioritize the integration of innovative sustainability technologies into your school’s infrastructure. Take a cue from British School of Brussels (Belgium), which embraced renewable energy projects with the installation of 580 solar panels which provide over 20% of the school’s electricity needs. Consider leading efforts to design a climate-neutral campus by implementing energy-efficient systems, green buildings, and renewable energy solutions that will serve as teaching tools for students while reducing the school’s carbon footprin.
Try this: Conduct a sustainability audit of your school buildings and systems. Identify one major area, like heating, lighting, or insulation, where change is possible. Collaborate with technical experts and use student involvement (e.g., data tracking or awareness campaigns) to make it a learning opportunity.
Set ambitious, measurable sustainability targets
To guide your school’s long-term sustainability, you might want to set ambitious targets for carbon reduction, waste management, and energy use. For example, Wrocław International School (Poland) set sustainability as a key component of their long-term school-wide initiatives. You can spearhead a plan that includes measurable targets for energy savings, waste reduction, and the school’s overall environmental impact, tracking progress annually and adjusting strategies to achieve these long-term goals.
Try this: Establish SMART goals for carbon reduction, waste management, and energy savings. Create a “Sustainability Dashboard” with student-designed visuals tracking monthly progress. Use results to adjust plans and celebrate achievements with the whole school community.
Forge global collaborations to share solutions
You might consider fostering global partnerships that enable your school to collaborate with international institutions, share sustainability solutions, and learn from a wider network. For example, MOS Network (Belgium) provides an excellent model of how schools can engage in global collaborations to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These partnerships can enable your school to be part of a wider movement for sustainable futures, helping students understand the interconnectedness of global environmental challenges and fostering a sense of global responsibility.
Try this: Join or initiate an Erasmus+ or eTwinning partnership focused on envisioning sustainable futures. Have students co-design a virtual exhibition with partner schools showing local and global solutions to shared environmental challenges.
Promote a collaborative, school-wide sustainability culture
To create a truly sustainable future, involve all school actors – students, teachers, staff, families, and local partners – in developing and implementing sustainability initiatives. Like Colegio San Alberto Magno (Spain), your school can benefit from engaging various stakeholders in cross-curricular projects that address environmental issues. Encourage a culture where sustainability is not just a subject, but a shared responsibility, through collaborative efforts such as waste reduction campaigns, biodiversity projects, and community engagement activities. This whole-school approach will help align policies, practices, and behaviors to work toward long-term sustainability goals.
Try this: Launch a school-wide initiative (e.g., “Year of Biodiversity” or “Zero Waste Challenge”) co-created by staff, students, families, and local stakeholders. Use weekly updates, shared leadership, and celebration events to build energy and shared ownership.