Mission Statement and Goals

The chief objective of the „Schools for Sustainable Development” program is to promote practical environmental actions in Poland and worldwide through the Eco-Schools network. The core of SSD are local actions involving small-scale initiatives which revive natural and community values, and through the school the program can make the case for sustainable development to the community.

The educational and community goals of the programme are summed up in the following points:

1. Promotion and involvement in activities that help revive shared values – participants are involved in identifying, designing and launching local projects which aim to revitalize degraded environmental and community values as well as degraded town and country public spaces.

2. Implementing local projects that contribute to revitalizing environmental values – implementing small-scale projects set in the local community that aim to improve the state of the local natural environment.

3. Environmental education – providing a toolbox of ideas and best-practice approaches for starting and implementing projects and later follow-up support, as well as linking them up to select national programs. This toolbox will be the core input for generating small-scale projects and putting innovative learning approaches into action.

4. Participation of experts– inviting local companies like Toyota dealers and employees of local Cadbury factories in all three countries to get involved in setting goals and devising mechanisms to participate as experts in SSD project activities in the areas of environment, health and safety. Similar initiatives with other corporate partners will be started up in other parts of Poland.

5. International network – community-school partnerships focused on delivering hands-on activities in line with the “know which tools” concept. These partnerships will be the platform for exchanging ideas and learning from others’ experiences, including through contacts via the international Eco-Schools network.

6. Sustainable development of the EU – using the European Eco-Schools network to communicate the achievements of the SSD program on the local, national and European level and to thereby demonstrate how collaborative partnerships of organizations can make an impact on grassroots activities and contribute to the sustainable development of the EU.

7. Recognition of achievements – The school which develops its programme by incorporating model solutions and learning approaches involving the local community will become a focal point in the community for environmental activities. We recognize the work of such schools by bestowing on them the title of Local Centers for Environmental Action. The top schools are eligible to receive the international „Green Flag” certificate as part of the Eco-Schools Program.