Schools for Sustainable Development is administered by Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation with the support of Polish Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of the Environment

Schools for Sustainable Development (SSD) program has been implemented in Poland since 2001. Starting in 2007, SSD has become part of the international Eco-Schools Program, which is administered by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) - www.fee-international.org. The Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation represents FEE in Poland.

The program is directed at schools and local communities across Poland.

The aim of the program is to engage and empower all partners from local communities through ‘education for sustainable development’ (ESD) which involves hands-on activities, brings together different learning approaches and raises awareness and understanding of environmental issues. The overarching theme of the program activities is the building of long-term public-private partnerships capable of working together effectively to improve the quality of life in the community, and this is meant to have a positive impact on the local community as a whole as well as on the quality of sustainable development initiatives in the European Union.

We help change the environment through financial support and ongoing guidance provided to member schools and local communities. We make it possible to improve the quality of our neighborhoods and make changes that benefit the entire community. We also provide opportunities to share experiences and gain useful know-how in organizing grassroots environmental community-based initiatives.

The program essence:

builds up the potential and knowledge needed to launch small-scale environmental activities with the support and engagement of various community members, thereby contributing to sustainable partnerships which are a force for renewing civil society;
introduces a collaborative management approach put into practice during e.g. activities involving businesses, which apart from effectively engaging local communities helps them reduce consumption of resources;
identifies new community needs and provides opportunities for sharing and transferring positive experiences, learning tools and useful knowledge between NGOs, local communities, public organizations and other community stakeholders;
combines activities that improve the quality of the natural environment, community health and safety, with actions that tap the economic potential of the community and furthermore helps build public support for environmental and sustainable development activities that are started on the local level;
identifies opportunities and mechanisms for transferring programme activities to other countries in the expanding European Union, engaging new partners and funders in the process.

The school, by starting new programs which implement good-practice solutions and educational activities in cooperation with local organizations, is able to work toward becoming a community steward of the environment. The Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation and cooperating organizations support schools undertaking such actions by conferring on them the title of Local Center for Environmental Action. The schools with the most accomplishments are eligible to be awarded the “Green Flag” certificate as part of the Eco-Schools Program.

The Schools for Sustainable Development program is administered by the Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation in cooperation with strategic partners, including: the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Warsaw, Toyota and Cadbury-Wedel.