With the goal of securing carbon neutrality, Albert Park Primary School (APPS) has actively made it a priority to reduce their carbon footprint. The school noticed that their energy usage was moderately high during the weekends and holidays. In response to investigations, it was decided to take action by shutting down all devices over the last 2 weekends of the term, leading into the summer holidays.
Nearing the end of term, each staff member was tasked with switching off all devices within their classroom. Such devices include:
- Heaters/Air cons
- Lights
- Computers
- Fans
- Chromebooks
- TVs
- iPads
Albert Park Primary School (APPS) was pleased to see that their exercise in switching off the above devices had presented such a telling result. As depicted in the graph, there was a 32% reduction of energy compared to the previous 5 weeks’ average. (5 week average = 354.1 kWh, Week 10 = 225.6 kWh).
These encouraging findings have further inspired members of staff to participate in device shutdown practices, especially on the final day of school. APPS worked with Sustainability Leaders, who have contributed to further educating students and staff about other simple ways to increase energy savings, such as by shutting down devices usually left on standby mode; both at school and at home. These messages have been positively received by students’ parents, who have discovered alternative ways to save on energy and costs while on holiday.
APPS continue their journey towards carbon neutrality and intend to continue working with students, staff and Sustainability Leaders, in order to create actionable changes to further share responsibilities towards carbon neutrality. This includes implementing physical checklists and sustainability training for class leaders and staff.
Curious to discover ways you can decrease and monitor your energy usage? APPS suggest that getting in touch with your local council may be a good idea. Brett Hedger from The City of Port Phillip has been helpful to educating and upskilling APPS by providing practical tools and simple steps relevant to APPS’s mission towards achieving carbon neutrality.
Another helpful tool that can assist with managing your energy waste is the CitiPower & Powercor website. APPS were able to track their energy usage from this website and measure the impacts that their energy interventions created. The website seamlessly provides users with graphs that are easy-to-read and interpret. Access is not only available to CitiPower or Powercor users, but also different energy providers, if you set up an account using your National Meter Identifier (NMI), name on bill, and meter number. Michael Logan from APPS is happy to connect, if this is something you would like to set up for your school.
The EcoCentre supports local schools embarking on their ResourceSmart Schools journey towards five-star sustainability certification. Click here to find out more about the ResourceSmart Schools initiative.
