The VSBA Green Schools Challenge is an annual friendly competition designed to encourage implementation of specific environmental policies and practical actions that reduce the carbon emissions generated by both the local school division and the broader community. School divisions can become a certified "Green School Division", and many of these actions can save local school divisions money.

Thank you to the sponsors of the VSBA Green Schools Challenge:

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<h2><u>Green Schools Challenge Actions</u></h2>
<strong>Action 1: </strong>Formally adopt a minimum of one school board policy/regulation which demonstrates the environmentally friendly commitment of the school division (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_1.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_1.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 2:</strong> Create a division-wide plan to reduce energy consumption. Make the plan available for public view on the division website and/or other media outlets (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_2.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_2.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 3:</strong> Conduct a baseline greenhouse gas emissions inventory of the school division's facilities, which complies with the World Resources Institute Public Sector Protocol (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_3.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_3.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 4: </strong>Conduct an energy audit of at least two of the school division's facilities and implement recommendations that result in a 5% energy saving for each audited facility (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_4.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_4.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 5: </strong>Purchase renewable energy credits or physically install renewable energy generation capacity in school division facilities. The total of purchased renewable energy and/ or on-site generated renewable energy must equal at least 1% of all school division energy use (1% of all energy sources used at all school division facilities converted to BTU) (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_5.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_5.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 6: </strong>Develop and publish a comprehensive facility maintenance plan (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_6.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_6.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 7: </strong>Establish an energy manager or energy management team for the school division. The energy management team must have a minimum of once a year reporting responsibility to the school board or school division senior staff (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_7.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_7.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 8:</strong> Establish a policy of utilizing best practices from a nationally recognized high-performance building program (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_8.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_8.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 9:</strong> Build a school facility which earns a certification from a nationally recognized green building rating system and/or renovate an existing facility to a certified level from a nationally recognized green building rating system (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_9.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_9.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 10: </strong>Quantify annual division-wide paper usage and develop a plan for 10% reduction within one year and/or establish a procurement policy of a minimum of 30% post-consumer recycled content for everyday office paper use (consistent with the current federal government policy - Exec. Order 13101) (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_10.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_10.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 11:</strong> Establish a division-wide recycling collection program (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_11.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_11.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 12:</strong> Adopt a "Green Fleet" policy that incorporates, at a minimum, the purchase of low emitting fuel efficient vehicles for vehicle fleet replacement and the use of alternative fuels (biodiesel, natural gas, ethanol) in fleet operations (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_12.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_12.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 13:</strong> Adopt an anti-idling policy for school fleet vehicles (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_13.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_13.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 14:</strong> Establish and implement a division-wide Indoor Air Quality Management Plan (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_14.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_14.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 15:</strong> Conduct a division-wide day-lit classroom or an acoustical performance inventory (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_15.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_15.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 16:</strong> Utilize integrated pest management procedures to prevent unacceptable levels of pests with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_16.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_16.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 17:</strong> Provide an employee benefit for ridesharing, walking, biking, or taking transit to work (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_17.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_17.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 18:</strong> Create a division-wide recognition program for teachers and staff who promote environmentally friendly concerns in their classrooms through programs and curriculum (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_18.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_18.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 19: </strong>Develop an employee education program on policies/practices relating to the environment and energy conservation (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_19.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_19.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 20:</strong> Develop and implement a division-wide education program for students to learn new ideas and best practices of energy conservation, environmental issues, and reusable energies which will then be shared with the local community (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_20.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_20.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 21:</strong> Publish an article in a local newspaper, association newsletter, professional journal, or other media outlet describing some aspect of the school division's environmentally friendly activities (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_21.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_21.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 22: </strong>Establish a program promoting an alternative transportation to school, which encourages walking and bicycling to neighborhood schools (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_22.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_22.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 23: </strong>Create an outdoor classroom in at least one of the divisions' schools that is used for environmental education (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_23.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_23.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 24:</strong> Establish a minimum of one club or team devoted to an environmentally friendly concern in at least half of all the division's schools (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_24.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_24.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 25: </strong>Implement a program in one or more schools that connects students to local farms and/or local produce (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_25.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_25.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 26:</strong> Participate in a national, regional, or local environmental program in at least half of your schools (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_26.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_26.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 27:</strong> Produce a student-made product that promotes an environmentally friendly concern and implements a way to share this with the community (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_27.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_27.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 28:</strong> Work with the school division's appropriating board on the "Green Government Challenge" (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_28.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_28.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 29:</strong> Implement a litter cleanup program in at least two schools in conjunction with local government (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_29.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_29.pdf">see more</a>).

<strong>Action 30: </strong>Innovation Credits - for any efforts, policies, activities beyond those identified above, which are proven to reduce the carbon emissions of the local school division (<a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_30_1.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Action_30_1.pdf">see more</a>).

The Green Public Schools Challenge is a friendly competition designed to encourage implementation of specific environmental policies and practical actions that reduce the carbon emissions generated by both the local school division and the broader community. School Divisions can become a certified "Green School Division." Many of these actions can save local school divisions money. To participate in the VSBA Green Public Schools challenge by submitting your entry online, <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GreenSchools2020" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GreenSchools2020">click here.</a> For answers to a few frequently asked questions view the document <a href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Green_Schools_Challenge_FAQ20.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Green_Schools_Challenge_FAQ20.pdf">here</a>.

<em><u><strong>The deadline to complete the 2020 Challenge has passed. Stay tuned for additional information in Summer 2021.</strong></u></em>

The certifications will be announced during the VSBA Annual Convention in November.

If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Blythe, director of membership services at (434) 295-8722 ext. 7 or jessica@vsbaDOTorg
