A noble idea
Sustainability requires action by Luke George, Sustainability Data Analyst work- ing with Dulwich College Since September 2024, three solar PV installations have been powering key sites across campus: the Sports Centre, the Lord George Building, and the Laboratory. This helps generate clean energy, reducing our reliance on the grid. With summer approaching, we expect greater energy savings and increased solar output. We are monitoring student and staff travel patterns, with the most recent student travel survey achieving an impressive 83% response rate, providing useful insight into student travel habits. This data will help identify opportunities to promote public and active transport while reducing reliance on cars.
Sustainability requires action across all aspects of the organisation. An examples, Dulwich College has removed red meat from its menus twice over a three-week menu rotation, as well as a Planet Friendly Day within this period. The absence of meat on planet-friendly days will result in 230,400 kg CO2e saved per year, significantly reducing our environmental impact. These collective efforts reflect Dulwich College’s commitment to creating a greener future for our community, and beyond. In an ever-changing climate, our impact can often be forgotten. It’s not about perfection — small changes make big impacts, and each of us holds this power. Whether we choose to walk, go veggie once a week, or turn off lights when not in use, we all make decisions which can drive positive, sustainable change for future generations. ◎
Sustainability lies at the heart of Dulwich College’s vision, setting bold targets and decisive action to reduce our carbon footprint
Sustainability at THE COLLEGE by Sustainability Prefect Peter Heller and Vice Captain Henry Gooderham, both Year 13 Sustainability is often thought of as a buzzword: a noble idea, yes, but one that means relatively little and is used by the school to pat itself on the back without actually doing anything of substance. We wanted to ensure that this wasn’t the case. That is why as soon as we were selected to be Vice Cap- tain and Sustainability Prefect, we reached out to as many people as possible, staff and students, to craft a vision for the year that was ambitious, but realistic, and most importantly, meaningful. Our first major action was to set up the inaugural SSLP (Southwark Schools Learning Partnership) Sustainability Committee. We managed to gather groups of students from seven different schools across Southwark, both state and independent, to discuss the successful (and not so successful) projects that have already been tried and tested, our ideas for the future and to set each other tar- gets for the future. The first meeting was hugely productive, and we hope that future prefect bodies develop the committee and help it grow in scale and ambition. While the choices pupils make are crucial in making the school a more sustainable place, we know that the majority of emissions come from the operations side. This is why we wanted to maintain a constant dialogue with the operations team, using their data and professional know- ledge to identify solutions, and to promote their
Small changes make big impacts, and each of us holds this power
ideas among the pupil body. While some of these changes, like frequent vegetarian days, received a lukewarm reception, others like the trialling of portion sizing in the Christison Hall (an idea for- mulated at the SSLP committee) have been much more successful. However, sustainability still is still a work in pro- gress at the College. During our flagship event, Eco Week, alongside presentations and workshops, we held the DC Clothes Swap event, where Upper School students were encouraged to take clothes home if they brought some in. Unfortunately, this event did not end up being the triumph we envi- sioned as we didn’t collect anywhere near enough clothes for a viable event to actually take place. We still believe in its potential for success, and the coming prefects have been informed both of our mistakes and what we have learned from them. Despite not achieving everything we set out to do, we are proud of the work we have done over the year in reinforcing the importance of sustainabil- ity in the school’s plan for the future. The SSLP Sustainability Committee has the potential to be a great force for good across the local area and we really hope that it will be nurtured by future prefect bodies. We also hope they will learn from some of our mistakes, like the Clothes Swap, and make a success of it where we couldn’t. In a time of concern about the environment, we need to strike the right balance between promoting sustainabili- ty and its importance, while not being preachy or condescending. By taking this on board, we believe that future prefect bodies will find real success.
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THE ALLEYNIAN 713
OPINION, INTERVIEWS & FEATURES
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