Whole School Sustainability Framework

The framework is founded on the imperative that in order to be successful, sustainability requires a whole-system approach. A Whole-School Sustainability approach requires individuals from across an organization to work together—it cannot be accomplished in a silo. This system framework is organized into the three components of schools: organizational culture, physical place, and educational program. Within these three components, we have identified a total of nine principles.

This report defines each principle and utilizes literature from across the disciplines of social science, business, education, and building science to illustrate how each principle manifests in a school and why it is critical to success. To further illustrate each principle, we have included a short case study on a school or district that exemplifies the principle. Though we present just one aspect of a school or district in each case study, we believe each is practicing whole-school sustainability.