GATE // Teachers Quiz

Área III: Envisioning Sustainable Futures

Feedback and Tips

Marco, a sweet and little boy

Basic Level

Description

You are beginning to integrate future-oriented thinking into your teaching practice. You recognise that sustainability involves imagining different futures and preparing students to deal with change, but you may feel uncertain about how to do this consistently across lessons or subjects. Activities related to this Area may still be occasional or project-based, rather than embedded in everyday practice. You are starting to explore how to help students adapt to uncertainty and connect ideas across disciplines. Collaboration with colleagues or external partners may be limited and exploratory. This is a valuable early stage, focused on building awareness, confidence, and shared understanding.

TIPS to raise your level
Sofia, a clever and outgoing girl

Advanced Level

Description

You regularly and thoughtfully integrate futures thinking into your teaching. You support students in exploring alternative futures and understanding how current choices shape long-term outcomes. You make space for uncertainty and experimentation, encouraging students to reflect, take initiative, and adapt.You probably use a variety of methods, such as scenario planning, storytelling, or inquiry-based projects, to help students connect knowledge across subjects and apply it in meaningful ways. You embed future-oriented thinking in both standalone activities and broader curricular planning.You are most likely collaborating with some colleagues or partners to enrich your practice and deepen student engagement. You are growing in confidence and consistency, and you reflect on how to strengthen this Area within your professional role and wider school life. Your teaching supports students in becoming more proactive, critical, and hopeful about shaping sustainable futures.

TIPS to raise your level
Amina, a smart, empathetic, and confident student

Expert Level

Description

You consistently and confidently integrate envisioning sustainable futures into your teaching and professional practice. You help students imagine alternative futures, navigate uncertainty, and explore solutions across disciplines through authentic, real-world projects. You collaborate closely with colleagues, school leadership, and partners to embed this Area within a whole-school approach. You actively connect this Area with the other GreenComp Areas, supporting students to develop coherent and integrated sustainability competences. You also contribute to collective reflection and school development processes. This demonstrates strong professional capacity to empower learners and colleagues to co-create sustainable futures together.

TIPS to raise your level

Tips to raise your level

level basic TIPS

Marco, a sweet and little boy

To strengthen this Area, you might consider: 

 As a teacher, you can ensure sustainability is a central part of your teaching approach by thinking long-term about how students can contribute to a sustainable future. For example, at Escola Secundária de Estarreja (Portugal), sustainability is integrated into every part of school life, including teaching and learning. You can start by planning lessons that introduce students to global sustainability challenges, like climate change or resource scarcity, and then work together with students on small projects to design future solutions, such as reducing waste in your classroom or school. 

Try this: You could, for instance, co-create a “2035 sustainable class” vision poster with students and agree on one concrete habit you will change this term. 

It’s important to engage students in thinking critically about the future. For example, Escola Secundária Alves Martins (Portugal) integrates sustainability projects like gardening and mapping green spaces, involving students in hands-on learning about their environment. You might want to try projects where students analyse future scenarios, such as how technology or policy might affect the planet in the next 20 years, and propose solutions. This will help them understand the broader implications of their actions on the world. 

Try this: Ask groups to create a simple “optimistic vs. businessasusual” storyboard for their community in 2040 and present one key action that shifts from one scenario to the other. 

Consider reflecting on your current sustainability projects and think about how they can evolve for long-term impact. At Sainte-Bernadette Establishment (Belgium), students actively reflect on their waste reduction projects and adjust their strategies for greater impact. You can implement a similar process in your classroom by reviewing past projects with students, discussing what worked, what didn’t, and how you can adjust for the future. This kind of reflective practice helps ensure that sustainability efforts are relevant, adaptable, and forward-thinking. 

Try this: Schedule a short “project retrospective” session after each activity, where students write one success, one challenge, and one improvement for next time. 

Collaboration is key to envisioning a sustainable future. At Gymnasium Ismaning (Germany), students work as “Sustainability Ambassadors” to shape their school’s sustainability initiatives. You could work with your students to design a classroom or school-wide sustainability project, such as creating a sustainability fair where they present their future sustainability plans, highlighting potential solutions for challenges like waste management, energy use, or social equity. This gives students ownership of their future-focused projects while developing their leadership skills. 

Try this: As a practical step, invite interested students to form a small “future design team” to plan the first edition of this fair and set a realistic timeline. 

As an educator, it’s important to model lifelong learning about sustainability for your students. Carl-Severing-Berufskolleg (Germany) provides an excellent example, where teachers continuously engage in professional development, staying updated on new sustainability practices and innovations. You could consider participating in sustainability-focused workshops, conferences, or online courses to deepen your own understanding. Additionally, collaborate with colleagues to share best practices and explore new methods for integrating sustainability into your curriculum. By committing to your own lifelong learning in sustainability, you set an example for your students and help cultivate a culture of continuous improvement in addressing the world’s environmental challenges. 

Try this: As a concrete action, set yourself a goal of one sustainability-related PD activity per semester and share one key insight with your class. 

Advanced basic TIPS

Sofia, a clever and outgoing girl

To strengthen this Area, you might consider: 

You may already be encouraging sustainability in your classroom, but consider advocating for a more comprehensive, long-term approach across your school. For instance, at Carl-Severing-Berufskolleg (Germany), students and teachers collaborate to implement energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy systems. You could propose a school-wide initiative, such as designing a climate-neutral campus, where students work alongside faculty to research sustainable infrastructure, analyse energy use, and propose solutions that reduce the school’s carbon footprint. This type of vision-building involves both education and practical steps towards a sustainable future. 

Try this: Start by forming a small cross-disciplinary working group to map your school’s current emissions and identify one achievable reduction goal for the next year. 

You might want to inspire students to think about creating lasting solutions for sustainability challenges. Take inspiration from Junior High School of Gera (Greece), where students design water management solutions for their community. In your classroom, you can ask students to develop projects aimed at creating sustainable solutions, such as designing a zero-waste plan or a water-saving campaign, and have them present their work as part of a school-wide initiative. This encourages them to think critically about long-term environmental challenges and their ability to contribute to meaningful change. 

Try this: To make this actionable, set up a simple project cycle (plan–test–improve) and have students revisit their solution after a trial period to refine it. 

At the advanced level, you can take a more formalized approach to evaluate your school’s sustainability initiatives. MOS Network (Belgium) regularly evaluates its sustainability programs to ensure they align with future goals. You can set up a system to assess your school’s sustainability efforts, like a yearly sustainability audit, and involve students in this process. This allows for reflection on current practices and adjustment of strategies for long-term, impactful change. With data from these audits, you can plan future initiatives that align with the school’s broader sustainability goals. 

Try this: As a starting point, co-create with students a short checklist for one focus area (e.g. energy use) and pilot the audit in a single building or corridor. 

Building partnerships beyond the classroom is critical for envisioning a sustainable future. Wrocław International School (Poland) collaborated with the community to secure support for their sustainability initiatives, such as their Eco-School program. You might consider focusing on connecting students’ needs with school managers to help build partnerships with local businesses, NGOs, and government organizations. While school management handles external collaborations, you can propose student-led sustainability projects, for example, students could work with a local farm to create a school-based sustainability project, such as a food waste composting program or a local energy initiative. 

Try this: Begin by asking students to identify one local actor they would like to collaborate with and draft a short joint project proposal. 

Consider collaborating with your colleagues to share resources and develop best practices for integrating sustainability into your teaching. For example, British School of Brussels (Belgium) fosters teacher professional development, including workshops and participation in international sustainability education networks. You could create a professional learning community within your school where teachers share their successes and challenges in teaching sustainability, explore new pedagogical practices, and discuss how to create long-term impact. This would not only strengthen your practice but also create a school-wide culture of sustainability. 

Try this: As a first step, schedule a monthly informal “green coffee” meeting where colleagues bring one practice or resource to share. 

Expert basic TIPS

Amina, a smart, empathetic, and confident student

To strengthen this Area, you might consider: 

At the expert level, you should be a driving force behind long-term sustainability changes across the school. At Max Windmöller Gymnasium Emden (Germany), students are deeply involved in decision-making processes related to sustainability through the Climate Parliament and Climate Council. You could initiate a school-wide sustainability transformation project where you lead a team of teachers and students to design a future-focused, climate-neutral school. This project should include concrete steps for reducing the school’s carbon footprint, using renewable energy, and integrating sustainability into every aspect of the curriculum. 

Try this: Τo operationalise this, co-develop a multi-year roadmap with milestones and assign mixed student–staff teams to each priority area. 

At this level, you should guide students to lead their own sustainability projects. Hämeenkylä School (Finland) allows students to design sustainable travel experiences that consider long-term environmental impacts. You can lead students in creating projects that envision a sustainable future for the school, such as designing a green campus, implementing energy-saving initiatives, or developing long-term water conservation strategies. Involving students in such initiatives empowers them to take ownership of their future and teaches them how to think critically about sustainability challenges. 

Try this: As a concrete activity, support students to form thematic project groups (energy, mobility, food, etc.) and present their long-term visions to the school council. 

As a teacher, you can play a crucial role in supporting the creation and implementation of a school-wide sustainability action plan. For example, Carl-Severing-Berufskolleg (Germany) demonstrates how student involvement in sustainability projects like solar panels and wind turbines can be integrated into the school’s broader goals. You can advocate for the inclusion of sustainability objectives in school strategies and help collect data or feedback from students to inform these plans. Encouraging collaboration between students, colleagues, and school management ensures that sustainability becomes a core part of the school’s operations and educational framework. 

Try this: Αs an action, propose adding a short student sustainability survey to the annual school evaluation and use the results to refine the action plan. 

As a teacher, you can help raise awareness of global sustainability challenges and encourage students to think beyond their local environment. For example, Colegio San Alberto Magno (Spain) has collaborated with external organizations to promote environmental change. You can support the creation of global partnerships by linking your students with schools abroad for joint projects, such as virtual exchange programs or sustainability challenges. While school management may facilitate the formal partnerships, you can help students learn from diverse perspectives, fostering a global understanding of sustainability and empowering them to take action as global citizens. 

Try this: Practically, you might start by organising a simple virtual “sustainability exchange day” where students share one local problem and one idea with a partner school. 

At this level, you are in a position to lead professional development (PD) sessions on sustainability for your colleagues. Wrocław International School (Poland) regularly provides PD opportunities for teachers to build their sustainability expertise. You can organize sustainability workshops and offer mentorship for other teachers in your school, helping them integrate sustainability into their teaching practices. You can also collaborate with local educational networks or universities to provide your school with access to cutting-edge sustainability knowledge. 

Try this: As a first move, design a short introductory PD session on one key theme (e.g. systems thinking or climate literacy) and invite colleagues to co-facilitate follow-up sessions. 

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