Global Green USA

What We Do: Green Schools

THE PROJECT

To help build green schools and make upgrades to existing schools across the country.

OUR PARTICIPATION

We have been working on greening schools for more than a decade. In California and New Orleans, we have created showcase green schools and our annual green school makeover competition is helping more schools make green upgrades. We have also developed a mobile app for schools to use as an assessment tool.

OUR MOTIVATION

Green schools that improve student test scores, lower energy bills, and reduce asthma attacks. We call it the 3 R's of green schools: Rise in student performance levels and teacher retention; Reduction in carbon emissions and toxins; and Renewed hope in education and the future. Green schools increase student performance by 20% and teacher retention by 5% -- through better daylighting and acoustics. Attendance is also up due to better indoor air quality, and energy costs are down. Remarkably, we spend more on energy costs for schools in the United States than we do on textbooks and computers combined. Thankfully, green schools reduce utility costs by 20% on average -- and that means a big reduction in carbon emissions as well. And green schools are also healthier, with the use of formaldehyde-free and low-VOC materials such as tiles, carpeting, insulation, and paint.

OUR PROGRESS

With our work so far, Global Green USA has:

Helped more than 55,000 students and teachers thrive in high-performance schools that save money and improve test scores
Provided technical expertise for school districts to go green
Motivated millions of students, teachers and parents to make the schools in their communities healthier
Hosted an annual Green School Makeover Competition
Created innovative, easy to use web tools for greening K-12 schools
Helped secure $100 million in bond monies for green schools in California
Drafted green school criteria for Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina

OUR GREEN SCHOOL PROJECTS

Greening Los Angeles Schools

Greening New Orleans Schools

Global Green USA's Green School Makeover Competition

PHOTOS