Reducing emissions in schools and kura

Education's role in reducing emissions

The Government is committed to Aotearoa becoming a world leader in climate change action and education has an important role to play.

Our climate is changing. We know that ākonga want to better understand their role in, and influence over, that change. Climate change impacts ākonga, kaiako, schools and kura, whānau, and communities. We need to grow our understanding of how all parts of te taiao | the environment interact to create the ecosystem we live in and rely on. We must explore opportunities to better understand and reduce our impact and come together to nurture and protect the natural world. Through education, our ākonga can build the skills they need to become climate leaders of the future.

Our vision is a future where every action makes a positive impact on climate change.

What does the CNGP mean for boards, schools and kura?

As the legal body governing a school, boards are a part of the CNGP and were originally going to have to meet the reporting requirements themselves. To reduce the burden on boards, the Ministry of Education are reporting to CNGP on behalf of the state schooling sector.

Are state-integrated schools included in the CNGP?

State-integrated schools are not required to measure and report their carbon emissions under the CNGP due to a difference in ownership of property and key infrastructure.

In future we hope to be able to offer state-integrated and private schools carbon footprints similar to those that state schools received. While they will only include modelled data they should provide schools a good indication of their likely carbon footprint, and a starting point for emissions reduction.

Understanding our emissions

The Ministry of Education undertakes carbon emissions reporting on behalf of all state schools and kura annually as part of the Carbon Neutral Government Programme (CNGP). Through this reporting, we are building an understanding of the impact of state education on the environment and making plans to reduce that impact.

Find out more about the Carbon Neutral Government Programme.

Carbon Neutral Government Programme – Ministry for the Environment

Tō tātou taiao | Our environment

Individual school carbon footprints

School carbon footprints provide schools and kura with a tool to measure their impact by calculating how much global warming is expected from the release of greenhouse gases generated by school activities. This measurement is known as CO2e – carbon dioxide equivalent.

The first step in building a carbon footprint is to identify the activities undertaken by both the Ministry and schools and kura over a 12-month period. We start by looking at what we spend our money on and add to that list activities that are part of the functioning of the school and the education system. From there, we apply an emission factor to those activities. Emission factors combine climate science with accounting principles to establish the CO2e emitted.

School carbon footprints include emissions from:

• Transportation – how ākonga and staff travel to and from school each day.
• Construction and maintenance of school buildings.
• Purchased goods and services, including the Ka Ora Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches programme.
• Energy use (electricity, gas, coal, and diesel).
• Water use, including wastewater.
• Waste to landfill.

School carbon footprints provide a high-level view of emissions, offering insights into where the largest emissions come from. The footprint information is a combination of actual, estimated, or partially estimated data and, in some cases, shows how an individual school compares to the national average.

Download a copy of a sample carbon footprint.

If you would like a copy of your 2023 carbon footprint, email [email protected].

We will be releasing 2024 carbon footprints early 2025.

Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) inventory report

Our GHG inventory was developed to support the requirements of the Carbon Neutral Government Programme. The emissions inventory report provides an overview of our emissions at a national level. This view allows us to look across the breadth of emissions in the state school system and make plans to respond in a strategic and meaningful way.

Download a copy of our greenhouse gas emissions inventory report.

Responding to our emissions

We're committed to exploring ways in which we can continue to deliver equitable and excellent outcomes for ākonga in a less carbon intensive way, and what we can do to support schools and kura to do the same.

Emissions Reduction Plan

Our Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) covers the Ministry’s corporate emissions as well as all activities carried out by schools and school boards.

The ERP outlines the strategies and actions we’re undertaking to lower our greenhouse gas emissions over a set period, in line with our national and international commitments, including the Paris Agreement.

The plan identifies key sectors where emissions are generated—such as energy, transportation, and construction—and proposes actions to reduce these emissions. It is designed as a roadmap for achieving our long-term climate goals by focusing on reducing emissions that are currently being produced and considering how to maintain lower-emissions future.

Download a copy of the Emissions Reduction Plan 2023.

On Our Way programme – empowering change through transport

The travel of ākonga to and from school and kura each day generates a significant number of emissions, with transport being one of the largest emission sources for state education in Aotearoa. In response to these emissions, the Ministry of Education developed the On Our Way programme.

On Our Way introduces a pathway through climate literacy to help prepare our ākonga for a low-carbon future and a changed climate.

Each school has its own transport story to tell, responding to local and national demand, infrastructure, and economic opportunity. On Our Way is designed to help schools uncover, assess, and respond to their individual transport story.

The programme offers a unique, all-of-school opportunity to build and develop climate literacy skills for ākonga. It uses the same processes businesses, councils, governments, and international bodies undertake to measure, predict, and respond to climate change.

Schools can explore and participate in discovering their unique transport environment, how it has changed over time, what it is used for, the climate impact of that use, what choices are available, and what transport could look like in the future.

The programme includes:

• A dedicated kaiako in a Ministry-funded within-school role to implement the programme in their school.
• Age- and subject-specific curriculum resources that map climate literacy across learning areas, localising learning through transport data.
• School-specific carbon footprints.
• Transport-specific emissions reporting, allowing schools to view, track, and set targets for their transport emissions.

To read more about the programme, download our brochure.

On Our Way

Rolling out the programme to schools and kura

On Our Way is proudly supported by Sport NZ as regional delivery partners. Sport NZ’s purpose is to contribute to the wellbeing of everybody in Aotearoa by leading an enriching and inspiring play, active recreation (including active transport), and sport system. The Ministry of Education and Sport NZ share a joint action under Aotearoa’s Emission Reduction Plan to make school travel greener and healthier.

Sport NZ and their Regional Sports Trusts will be delivering the programme in schools across Aotearoa starting in Term 1, 2025.

If you think this programme would be a good fit for your school or kura and are interested in implementing it in 2025, reach out to your local Regional Sports Trust or email [email protected] and we will connect you.