Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi Wins Sustainability Impact Award!

People protect what they love, they love what they understand, and they understand what they’re taught.
— Albert Einstein

On Thursday, 31 March 2022 Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi were honoured to receive the Australia – New Zealand Community Gala Awards ‘Sustainability Impact Award’. Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi received a community nomination for the award, with the statement:

Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi runs an impressive education program promoting the development of a sustainable disposition within its student and parent community. The program teaches the community about how to practically live in a way that reduces waste, values the environment and values other human beings. These youth programs have a multiplier impact on the society as time goes on.

This award is especially meaningful for our community, as it reflects and recognises our commitment to promoting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and one of our core College values, Make a Difference.

We recognise that we have a responsibility to be a good citizen of the communities in which we operate. That means that we not only involve ourselves in community projects, but we look after the local people who work for us and drive down the environmental impact of our operations (whether through energy and water consumption or plastic usage) whenever we can. In all areas of College life, decisions are considered from the perspective of environmental impact, and a sustainability mindset is embedded within our curriculum, and our community as a whole. Below are a few, but by no means exhaustive, examples of how this embedded mindset Makes a Difference in our community:

Global Citizenship Competency Framework

A framework rolled out across Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi consisting of the 5 following strands aimed at developing a sense of self and community, building global engagement and action;

• Environmental Sustainability
• Service
• Intercultural Understanding
• Diversity
• Social Justice

No palm oil used in our catering service

A student-led initiative now in effect across our restaurant and coffee-shop catering services.

No single-use plastics

A student-led initiative that has been in effect for the majority of the College’s history. You will not see a plastic bottle, straw or other single-use plastic across campus.

ESG Report

We have recently completed our first ever ESG report, and will be sharing more about this on World Earth Day, Friday 22 April.

Carbon Mapping

We are in the process of completing a community-wide carbon mapping exercise, with a view to understanding our impact and developing strategies to become carbon-neutral.

Mustangs Challenge

We encourage our community members; student, staff and parents alike, to undertake their very own  Mustang Challenges, where they demonstrate their commitment to a better future by choosing and completing one of the following challenges;

Eco-Warriors Camps

An annual camp hosted at Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi, and attended by students from across the Dulwich College International and Dehong family of schools.

Dulwich Digital Difference (D3) programme

A broad programme creating the schools of the future, with an emphasis on connecting Colleges and communities. One key area is the push to go digital and reduce the use of paper across campuses.

Celebrating local flora and fauna

For World Earth Day 2021 we rolled out signage across the campus highlighting the endemic bird species that regularly visit the campus.

Eco-Council

Each year, Year 3 students create an Eco-Council, aimed at collecting knowledge and sharing actionable initiatives that students across the Primary School can do to become more eco-friendly.

Senior School Student Initiatives

Across the Senior School, a range of student-led CCAs and enrichment activities generate sustainable businesses, such as a the Dulwich EcoShop, a student-led business creating sustainable soaps and candles, which are sold to the community to raise funds for charity.

BlueSky Energy Monitoring

Across the College, we employ BlueSky technology to monitor and display energy usages. This data is displayed across TVs throughout the College so students are aware and can take action to reduce environmental impact.

These are just a few of the many initiatives we take both as a College, and as individuals, to embed a sustainability mindset. Many of these initiatives are a reflection of our Sustainability Pledges, which can be found by clicking "Here" at the bottom of the article.

Reflecting our responsibility to our students and our communities at large, our pledges are grouped into three main focus areas: student and staff wellbeing, curriculum integration, and social and environmental responsibility. In developing these pledges, we have not only taken guidance from our own action that is already underway, but have looked to international guidance, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Global Compact.

We are incredibly proud of receiving the Sustainability Impact Award, which serves as a reminder that the efforts we are making are recognised and celebrated across the Shanghai community. Thank you to the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AustCham) for providing this opportunity.