School Environment Management Plan (SEMP) Page 1
This document incorporates the sustainability policy, green procurement policy (if not part of the sustainability policy), achievements/future priorities document, communications plan and the school curriculum summary.
School Vision / Declaration of Commitment:
[insert your school vision here] eg. At ___________ , our school works together to understand and improve sustainability in day-to-day operations, curriculum and community. We reduce our impact on the Earth in order to produce a clean, safe and healthy environment and preserve resources for future generations.
Goals:
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To develop an environmentally conscious culture at [insert school name here] and its surrounding community.
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To improve biodiversity by increasing our school’s habitat quality index score as close to 75 as possible by planting indigenous species of plants and increasing the habitat area for local and indigenous wildlife.
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To reduce the amount of energy through smarter practices and greater efficiency as well as working towards using carbon neutral energy sources:
Electricity - 200kWh (primary) or 400kWh (secondary) per student per year
Gas - 0.9GJ (primary) or 1.4GJ (secondary) per student per year
Greenhouse Gas - 0.4 tonnes CO2 (primary) or 0.6 tonnes CO2 (secondary) per student per year
 To minimise landfill waste output to 0.3m3 per student per year and increase the percentage of material that is reused, recycled and composted.
 To minimise the consumption of mains water to 4KL per student per year through the improvement of plumbing systems and water conservation programs.
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To introduce ‘green purchasing’ procedures for the school community in order to reduce environmental impacts and educate the community on making environmentally friendly choices for life.
Guidelines:
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Curriculum delivery will incorporate elements of sustainability at all year levels.
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The school will engage in daily sustainable practices that incorporate environmentally-friendly behaviours by utilising systems eg. recycle bins, standby/shutdown systems
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The school will lead the community by demonstrating exemplary practices in waste management, water and energy usage, and develop the school grounds to promote biodiversity.
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The School Environment Tracking System (SETS) will be utilised to measure progress in reaching our targets, as well as completing modules in the Resource Smart AuSSI Vic framework. Examples of
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School Environment Management Plan (SEMP) Page 2 implementation will be provided in the comments on each ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic checklist in SETS to serve as a progressive action plan. Results from each audit will be added to ‘Annual (Baseline) Data’.
Implementation:
The school will implement a hands-on approach to education for sustainability through the curriculum at each year level and whole school events. Student learning will focus on taking action within the school and wider community.
The school will support an active sustainability coordination team that involves School Council, staff, student leadership, students and parents.
BIODIVERSITY
 Undertake habitat assessments to gather information about biodiversity and identify areas for improvement.
 Encourage an appreciation of the natural environment through learning experiences e.g. curriculum, excursions and school camps.
 Enhance the College vegetable garden program.
 Continue to increase biodiversity in the school yard in order to support local flora and fauna.
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Showcase native and indigenous gardens as model to the school and wider community.
ENERGY
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Undertake energy audits to gather information about energy usage and identify areas for improvement.
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Develop a program that promotes sustainable transport (eg. walk-to-school) and undertake audits to measure improvement.
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Include the whole school community in the process of developing an ‘Energy Efficient’ school.
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Use resources and equipment as efficiently as possible.
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Choose the most appropriate energy saving methods available.
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Develop a program that promotes sustainable transport eg. walk-to-school.
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Increase the use of carbon neutral energy sources.
WASTE
 Undertake waste and litter audits to gather information and identify areas for improvement.
 Include the whole school community in the process of developing a ‘Waste Wise’ school through the principles of ‘Rethink/Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’.
 Minimise landfill waste and maximise recycling and composting (e.g. rubbish free lunches, recycling bins, compost buckets and worm farms).
 Maintain litter-free school grounds.
WATER
 Undertake water audits to gather information about usage and identify areas for improvement.
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Appreciate water as a precious natural resource.
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Involve the whole school community in the planning of water conservation and storm water quality initiatives.
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Use resources and equipment as efficiently as possible.
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Choose the most effective means of conserving water (e.g. water tanks for flushing toilets).
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School Environment Management Plan (SEMP) Page 3
GREEN PURCHASING
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Purchase environmentally-friendly paper for printers and photocopiers.
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Purchase environmentally-friendly paper alternatives for items like toilet paper, hand towels, tissues and serviettes.
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Increase the use of furniture and equipment made from second hand or recycled materials.
 Use more environmentally friendly products (e.g. for cleaning).
EVALUATION
 This policy will be reviewed as part of [school name] ’s review cycle.
 The Annual Program Budget review will provide recommendations which may be used to affect policy change in future.
 Staff and community feedback will be sought to review the policy.
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The School Council and Sustainability Program Coordinators will review whether the school is reaching its environment targets, as outlined in ‘Goals’, twice a year.
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School Environment Management Plan (SEMP) Page 4
Record where environmental/ sustainability education is happening at each level in your school.
Don’t forget to include things like specialist subjects, incursions, excursions, camps, Literacy, Numeracy and
whole school events.
Year
6
Name of Inquiry Unit, Curriculum Area or Learning
Activity
Term 1
– Learning to Learn – personal responsibility for sustainability roles
Term 3 – Natural Disasters – earth changes, weather, ecosystems
Term 4 – Our Governments – politics and different government roles
Biodiversity Water Waste Energy
  
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School Environment Management Plan (SEMP)
BIODIVERSITY Achievements Future Goals
  
Page 5
How
Workplace and Daily
Operations
 
Learning and
Teaching
Whole School
Community
Engagement
 
Created with the support of CERES Community Environment Park – http://sustainability.ceres.org.au

School Environment Management Plan (SEMP)
ENERGY Achievements Future Goals
  
Page 6
How
Workplace and Daily
Operations
 
Learning and
Teaching
Whole School
Community
Engagement
 
Created with the support of CERES Community Environment Park – http://sustainability.ceres.org.au

School Environment Management Plan (SEMP)
WASTE Achievements Future Goals
  
Page 7
How
Workplace and Daily
Operations
 
Learning and
Teaching
Whole School
Community
Engagement
 
Created with the support of CERES Community Environment Park – http://sustainability.ceres.org.au

School Environment Management Plan (SEMP)
WATER Achievements Future Goals
  
Page 8
How
Workplace and Daily
Operations
 
Learning and
Teaching
Whole School
Community
Engagement
 
Created with the support of CERES Community Environment Park – http://sustainability.ceres.org.au

School Environment Management Plan (SEMP) Page 9
 All people within the school community will be informed and responsible for implementing the actions contained in the above documents.
 The various action teams, committees and school leadership will be responsible for keeping records and reporting on the outcomes and progress of each area of sustainability to the community, through avenues such as the school newsletter, school website, assemblies, local media and community events.
 Reports will be provided to staff and School Council outlining the goals, aims, costing, savings and other issues relating to the above.
 Each of the areas of sustainability, as well as this SEMP, will be subject to annual review by the school staff, students and the school community.
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Examples of implementation will be provided in the comments on each ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic checklist in SETS (www.schoolenergysavings.com.au) to serve as a progressive action plan.

Our school will regularly create learning stories (case studies) to share our achievements, learnings and future goals. The learning stories should be uploaded to the CERES Sustainability Hub – http://sustainability.ceres.org.au
using our username and password to post on our school’s page.
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Our learning stories can also be shared in our newsletter, on our website and as part of a press release.
Here is a guide for our learning story format:
Title of Learning Story
Name of school
Name of ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic module
Written by , Date
Introduction
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A brief description of your school and school community.
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A brief description of your school’s sustainability program.
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When you started the ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic module.
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If you received funding for the module, you may want to mention them here.
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If you had a ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic facilitator, you may want to mention them here.
Challenges
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What did you set out to achieve? What problems/issues did you address during the module?
Actions and Achievements
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What happened along the way? How did you do it or get there?
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Who was involved? (e.g. students, student council, environment club, school council, local council, teachers and other school staff, parents and broader community). What were their roles and responsibilities?
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What did your students learn or experience?
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What were your achievements and what outcome or difference did they make? Consider environmental, curricular, financial, social outcomes.
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Why are these achievements significant to your school community?
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How did you celebrate the achievements?
Reflection and Conclusion
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What were the top three things you have learnt through doing the module?
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What worked well, not so well and what would you do differently next time?
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What’s next? What do you plan to do in the future? (e.g. Which module? Activities? Fundraising, operations, infrastructure procurement or curriculum details etc)
Further Information

Where can people find out more about this project? (e.g. Website? School visit? Teacher network?)
Created with the support of CERES Community Environment Park – http://sustainability.ceres.org.au