Green Schools Alliance
Our Impact
The Green Schools Alliance is a peer-to-peer nonprofit created by schools, for schools, with a mission to connect and empower K–12 schools to lead the transformation to a sustainable, regenerative, and climate-resilient future. Over our history, we have reached nearly 10,000 schools worldwide, deliver programs, tools, and resources that respond directly to the needs of school communities—developing real solutions and empowering students, educators, and leaders to become sustainability champions.
The Leadership Commitment
The Green Schools Alliance began with a bold idea—that school leaders could drive real climate action. In 2007, a coalition of 46 independent schools in New York City united to meet Mayor Bloomberg’s challenge: reduce their carbon emissions by 30% by 2050. This shared goal sparked a movement.
As word spread, more schools wanted to join. What began as a local initiative grew into a global alliance. Today, nearly 10,000 schools across the world—led by principals, heads of school, and superintendents — including 27 of the largest public school districts in the United States —have signed the GSA Leadership Commitment.
By making the commitment, school leaders signal that sustainability matters, not only to their operations but to their students, staff, and communities. The act of signing is voluntary and non-binding, but the impact is tangible:It holds leaders accountable to their values. It sets a clear direction for school-wide action. It tells the school community: This matters. We’re taking it seriously.
Join the movement. Add your voice to a growing network of education leaders strengthening their campuses and communities through sustainability.
579 School & District Commitments, impacting 8,076 schools, including 27 school districts in the USA.
"When the New York City Department of Education adopted its ambitious sustainability agenda, we needed to make a strong public statement about the importance of climate stewardship. Making the Green Schools Alliance leadership commitment showed clearly that New York City schools were committed at the highest level to facing our environmental challenges."
— John T. Shea, Chief Executive Officer, New York City Department of Education Division of School Facilities.
The Green Schools Alliance District Collaborative played a pivotal role in uniting some of the largest and most influential public school districts in the United States around a shared vision for sustainable schools. Developed as an advisory council of 27 public school districts, the Collaborative was represented by district sustainability professionals dedicated to transforming how schools think about and implement solutions for sustainability. Together, these districts:
Spanned 6,088 schools
Managed more than 600 million square feet of building space
Included 9 of the 14 largest school districts in the country
Members included major districts like NYC Department of Education, Chicago Public Schools, Los Angeles Unified, Clark County (NV), and Orange County (FL).
The mission was simple but powerful: leverage collective knowledge, experience, and influence to accelerate the adoption of sustainability principles in public education.
In 2016, the Collaborative was honored with the Best of Green Schools Award for “Moment for the Movement” by the Center for Green Schools, recognizing its leadership in driving progress across the national green schools movement.
Creating a Movement: The District Collaborative
27
U.S. Public School Districts
Sparking Student Action: The Green Cup Challenge™
The Green Cup Challenge™ (GCC) was one of the first programs to truly gamify sustainability in schools—unleashing the power of student leadership, creativity, and competition to drive measurable environmental impact.
Over the course of 4-week student-led challenges, K–12 schools across the country competed to reduce their own energy and resource use, improve recycling, and activate their communities through creative campaigns and educational videos. Schools competed both against their own historical data and against other schools nationwide in categories like Energy Reduction, Waste and Recycling, Water Conservation and Student Engagement (Video/OnAir Challenge).
Students took charge—conceiving, promoting, executing, and measuring their sustainability initiatives. From turning off lights and adjusting thermostats to launching awareness campaigns and filming educational videos, the GCC empowered young people to lead change.
At its peak, 1,500+ schools participated, saving over 120 million kWh of electricity—the equivalent of eliminating up to 180 million pounds of CO₂ from the atmosphere.
Key Results: average 5–10% electricity reduction during each challenge; qround 60% of schools maintained savings year over year; estimated lifetime impact of 40,000+ kWh saved per school
We have big plans for the Green Cup Challenge 2.0! If you’d like to learn about sponsorship opportunities, get in touch - admin@greenschoolsalliance.org.
100 million
pounds of
CO2 saved
Sc3: Empowering the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders
The Student Conservation Community & Congress (Sc3) is America’s premier student leadership program for high school students passionate about creating a better, more sustainable world. Founded in 2008 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Green Schools Alliance, Sc3 has welcomed students annually to the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC)—the U.S. government's hub for conservation leadership. Here, rising 9th–12th grade students from across the U.S. and around the world come together for a transformative week of collaboration, exploration, and action.
“Sc3 was truly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Absolutely life-changing!”
— Arielle, Sc3 2024 Alum
At Sc3, students don’t just learn about environmental challenges—they develop the leadership skills, critical thinking, and networks they need to make a difference in their schools and communities. Through hands-on learning, open-space collaboration, and mentorship from world-renowned experts, Sc3 Fellows explore real-world topics like resource use and conservation, biodiversity and ecosystem health, policy, stewardship and leadership
Students are empowered to identify the issues they care most about, design bold solutions, and return home ready to lead tangible projects that make a measurable impact.
Since its inception, Sc3 has trained hundreds of youth leaders from across the U.S. and internationally, inspired student action in school and community-based sustainability projects and built an alumni network of environmental change-makers,
hundreds
of young leaders connected & empowered
"Sc3 was an incredible opportunity to meet people who are as passionate about sustainability as I am. It exposed me to an amazing network of extremely qualified and dedicated individuals who have inspired me to never give up in my environmental pursuits. They have taught me priceless things about the world I live in and just exactly what needs to be done to change it for the better." - Jax, Sc3 Fellow
The Sustainable Schools Community: Connecting Schools with Resources — and Each Other
At the heart of every sustainable school is a champion—or often, a whole team of them. The Sustainable Schools Community is our answer to their call: a dedicated online hub and peer-to-peer network designed to support, connect, and empower those working on sustainability in schools.
With over 600 members and growing, the Community brings together educators, facility managers, administrators, and sustainability coordinators who are committed to making schools healthier, greener, and more resilient.
The Community also offers an extensive resource library to help turn ambition into action, including discussion forums, resources and toolkits, best practices and events and inspiration across 50+ sustainability metrics.
Real impact: Our first Community helped spark a major realization - that schools needed a clear, structured framework for sustainability action. That insight directly shaped the development of our START platform (START: Sustainability Tracking, Analytics & Roadmap Tool) —a powerful tool now helping schools benchmark and improve across 50+ sustainability metrics.
From teachers and sustainability coordinators to facilities managers, catering coordinators and principals, the Community is a vibrant network that’s removing barriers to progress and accelerating the shift to a sustainable future. By sharing knowledge — and learning from others — Community members you help supercharge sustainable change in schools everywhere.
hundreds of resources,
600+ members
& growing
START™: The First Ever Sustainability Benchmarking Dashboard for Schools
START (Sustainability Tracking, Analytics & Roadmap Tool) is the culmination of our collaboration between schools, and a catalyst for real change in schools. With 90 schools now using START, we’re seeing the transformative impact of putting a clear framework, collaborative process, and student-engaging tool in the hands of school communities.
Schools across the U.S. and around the world are using START to benchmark their performance, identify priorities, track progress, and build whole-school engagement around sustainability.
The Impact So Far
90+ schools using START to drive measurable sustainability outcomes
Schools have used START to create sustainability committees, adopt new operational practices, and embed sustainability into strategic plans and curriculum
START helps schools move from good intentions to clear goals and transparent progress
Encourages shared ownership, breaking down silos between staff, students, and administrators
Supports student learning through real-world data, systems thinking and action-planning
90+ schools
& growing
What Schools Are Saying about START
"START brings people, planning and tracking together across a school system... It is supporting carbon reduction far into the future."
— Missouri Gateway Green Building Council
“START has created an institutional shared language around sustainability.”
— Indian Mountain School (CT)
“START helped us prioritize, adopt composting, form a sustainability committee, and begin long-term planning. It’s easy to use, and students can use it too.”
— Pingree School (MA)
“When we found START, it seemed too good to be true—yet it was exactly what we needed and more.”
— Watershed School (CO)
“My students plan sustainability proposals around START metrics. It helps us see what we've achieved—and what’s still possible.”
— JMcDonogh School (MD)
“START turns one person’s passion project into a whole-system approach—something that will last.”
— Five Towns Community School District (ME)
Proving the Potential of Sustainable Purchasing
We believe sustainable products should be the easiest—and most affordable—choice for schools. That’s why we piloted the GSA Purchasing Solution, using the power of data, technology, and vendor relationships to make high-quality, sustainable products more accessible.
Our Purchasing Consortium project proved the concept: schools can save money, maintain quality, and simplify procurement—all while choosing products that support student and planetary health.
“Green and sustainable isn’t more expensive. We switched to green and sustainable products and we’re saving $10,000 a year.”
— Liz Cutler, Sustainability Coordinator, Princeton Day School.
From classroom supplies to cleaning products, food service items, and groundskeeping materials, schools gained access to affordable sustainable options—without added complexity.
While the GSA Purchasing Solution is not currently active, we’re proud of the results it achieved in pilot testing. We’re now exploring opportunities to scale this proven model to benefit more schools nationwide. If you’re interested in learning more, partnering, or supporting the next phase of this effort, please contact us.
$10,000
per school
in savings
Schools have the power to shape a better future.
They can be centers of sustainability and innovation—places where students develop the knowledge, skills, and creativity to navigate complex challenges and help build a thriving, resilient world. When sustainability is part of the school experience, it becomes part of how students see themselves and their role in the world.
With your support, we can continue to expand access to transformative programs that empower students to lead, spark meaningful change in their communities, and prepare for the opportunities of tomorrow. Your contribution helps us provide schools with the tools and programs they need to become engines of positive impact—for people and the planet.