Carbon neutrality in early learning
This blog post is the second in a series of three adapted from a joint presentation at the 2023 Early Childhood Australia Conference in Adelaide by Gavin Jennings & Megan Black (Futuro), and Dan Sheedy (Climate Active) titled 'Intergenerational Equity and the Sustainability Imperative'.
When you think about carbon emissions, chances are you think about electricity, gas and chemical production, construction products and mining. However the contribution of the education to carbon emissions isn't exactly negligible either. Following on from our last blog post regarding the pedagogical and operational imperative for sustainability, Educators and centre operators need to ask themselves what they can and should be doing to walk the walk when it comes to intergenerational advancement and the achievement of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
Australia's unique ecological identity
Australia's biodiversity and ecosystems are some of the most diverse on Earth. Australia has always faced risks arising from our harsh climate, however climate change is exacerbating those risks and creating new ones. The frequency and severity of natural disasters in Australia is increasing, with significant impacts on our quality of life, our communities and our economy.
Early learning as a contributor to emissions
The education and training sector (including early learning) contributes 515,000 tonnes of CO2 each year and the early learning sector is responsible for more than half of that producing 300,000 tonnes.
Carbon neutrality
Carbon neutral means reducing emissions where possible and compensating for the remainder by investing in carbon credits or offset projects to achieve net zero overall emissions. In a perfect world, the sector would be able to achieve carbon neutrality without purchasing carbon credits. However, when you account for the key emission sources listed above (transport, air con, refrigeration) the achievement of carbon neutrality is difficult if not impossible to achieve.
Some countries opt for an unregulated carbon credit market, however in Australia we have a Government agency called Climate Active that runs this process. The process looks like this:
An organisation involved in carbon neutral certification will calculate their emissions, develop and implement a reduction strategy, purchase certified carbon offsets and report on their efforts.
Operational approach
At Futuro, we quickly realised that solar panels, hydronic heating and the like would only take us so far. Carbon neutral certification was the most appropriate option for us, although there are a number of other alternatives that we considered that we will canvass in our third and final blog post. Part of the rationale for presenting at the 2023 Early Childhood Australia Conference on the topic of sustainability is to share the word on carbon neutral certification and to show other operators that it's a viable and accessible option for those wishing to really 'walk the walk' on sustainability.
As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask a member of our friendly team or reach out to us at enquiries@futuro.nsw.edu.au!