Why Green Schools?

More and more of us are realizing that our future depends on protecting the health and wellbeing of our children and the planet. To do so we must educate new generations of citizens with the skills to solve the global environmental problems we face. How can we have a green future or a green economy without green schools?

Safeguarding Health: Safeguarding the health of America's 58 million schoolchildren must be central to a high-quality education. Research shows that greener school environments can improve children’s health and learning. Yet our schools get dismal grades in environmental practices:

• Schools use pesticides with neurological and reproductive toxins, which are dangerous to both children and adults.
• Poor indoor air quality and nutrition at school are linked to soaring asthma and childhood obesity rates.
• American schools consume enormous quantities of paper and energy, produce tons of waste and carbon emissions, and rarely purchase environmentally-friendly products.

Save Money, Improve Health: Here’s the good news -- there's a growing body of research showing that green schools save money and raise test scores, while improving health. A 2006 U.S. Green Building Council report showed that green schools cost $3 more per square foot, but generated $74 per square foot in benefits from energy savings, increased attendance, and teacher retention.

Raise Test Scores: Other studies show that "daylighting" (increasing the volume of daylight in a building), better indoor air quality, and hands-on, experiential environmental curricula are linked to higher test scores. Elementary school students with either hands-on experience in a school garden or an environmental education curriculum score higher on math, science, and language arts tests, behave better in class, and have better attitudes about school compared with control groups without such programs.

Empower Kids: Ultimately, sustainability is about being good global citizens: ensuring adequate resources for a clean, healthy environment for all. Imagine if schools were leaders in environmental sustainability, giving students the tools to be innovators, and giving them a healthy environment in which to learn and play.

Green schools empower kids to make a difference, and teach them environmental and health values that will stay with them for life.

See our "Fun Facts" page for these benefits - and more - with links to sources for the statistics. The real question is not "Why green schools?," but “Why not?”

Now that you know why, take the next step with "How to Green Your School."

Watch this inspiring 2-minute video about why we need green schools, produced by the Media & Policy Center.