Sustainability in SD8

Why Develop a Climate Action & Sustainability Policy?

SD8’s Strategic Plan commits to responding to climate change. One step in that response is to develop a climate action & sustainability policy to set a vision for the school district to respond to climate change.

Next Steps

Policy 173: Climate Action and Sustainability was approved by the Board of Education at the February 11, 2025 Board of Education Meeting Held in Public. This means the policy is now finalized.

Guided by Policy 173, the district has published its first Climate Action & Sustainability Annual Report, which outlines the actions developed for each commitment area and provides an update on our progress for the 2024/2025 school year and priority actions for each school year until 2030.

Thank you to everyone who completed the survey!

Thanks to everyone who helped to develop this policy by completing the Sustainability Survey. Results from 357 surveys were compiled for the SD8 Sustainability Policy Development Advisory Council (SPDAC) and used to help identify sustainability priorities in the school district to guide policy work.

The Sustainability Policy Development Advisory Council

The Board of Education established the Sustainability Policy Development Advisory Council (SPDAC) to advise the Board on the development of Policy 173: Climate Action and Sustainability.

The SPDAC included trustees and senior administrators, employee representatives, parent representatives, rights holders, community organizations, academic experts and students. The SPDAC evaluated feedback from students, staff, and other education partners in the development of the policy and met every few weeks during the spring of 2024 to:

1. Define sustainability.
2. Review existing reporting tools and policies related to sustainability.
3. Recommend areas of focus for a sustainability policy.
4. Review current best practices for school districts in the area of sustainability.
5. Recommend a draft sustainability policy.

The Ministry of Education and Child Care supports a focus in this area by partnering with the Climate Action Secretariat to ensure K–12 education remains aligned with provincial climate strategies and helps educators, students, families, and communities understand climate impacts, identify actions to prepare and adapt to climate change, and build climate resilience.