Alignment to the Green school quality standard: frequently asked questions for schools and organizations
As an individual school, can we become a green school aligned with the Green school quality standard?
The guidance for individual schools is found on page 60 of the . If you are not yet a part of a network of schools, please do not send your alignment form directly to the GEP Secretariat at this stage. We recommend that you identify an existing school network which already operates in your country to accredit schools’ activities (for example, schools network organized by the Ministry of Education, or UNESCO ASPNet Schools). The Greening Education Partnership will be publishing a list of school networks that are aligned with the Green school quality standard on our website in 2025. You are then welcome to follow the other steps outlined in the Standard to make your school green and climate ready.
Schools are welcome to join the Greening Education Partnership by . Once you have done so, you will receive a welcome email including a “Member of GEP†badge which you are welcome to use.
We are a ‘green school’, can we train other schools to become green?
It is encouraging to learn about schools which have already undertaken a ‘green’ journey and are willing to share this with other schools. Peer-to-peer learning, establishment of new networks of green schools, as well as the wide dissemination of the Green school quality standard and the Greening curriculum guidance are highly welcomed.
I am a member of UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet), how do I become a ‘green school’
If you are representing an accredited ASPNet school, we suggest you contact your national coordinator who will provide you with all the relevant information as well as the link to complete the for ASPNet schools.
Do you have a particular branding we could use to show we are aligned?
Aligned schools and organizations are invited to join the Greening Education Partnership by . Once this is done, you will receive a welcome email including GEP branding guideline and a “Member of GEP†badge which you are welcome to use. Please note that you are not permitted to use the UNESCO logo.
In terms of your communications about announcing that you are an aligned school, you are welcome to highlight the fact that you are now aligned to the Green school quality standard of the Greening Education Partnership and link back to the web page.
Where do we find the list of already aligned greening education organizations?
The Greening Education Partnership will be publishing a list of already aligned organizations on our website soon.
Can my organization become a body that accredits green schools?
The Greening Education Partnership is encouraging school accreditation schemes or programmes to align their criteria to the Green school quality standard, which means that the schools they cover will then become green schools. Accreditation scheme organizers range from international associations, governments to non-profit/civil society organizations, networks of learning institutions that provide official recognition and/or certification to schools based on their actions on ESD, in particular climate change education. These scheme organizers promote ESD and climate-readiness in schools, provide support to achieve those goals, and, in some measure, certify a school by benchmarking and tracking progress.
If your organization works with a number of schools to support them to become green schools, you can simply fill out the alignment form accordingly and send it to us (the details of the steps are included in the form). If the schools are aligned with a minimum 1/3 of the activities of the your submitted form will be acknowledged as an aligned accreditation scheme. More information is also found on page 56 of the .