We know that to be sustainable we need to manage our business, so our decisions and impacts do not prevent future generations living their lives without hindrance. We also know that we need to enable our pupils to do the same in their lives and future employment. We are aware of the impact our operations have on sustainability – the environment, society, and the economy – and are committed to playing our part in delivering increasingly sustainable outcomes through our commitments and plans. We have therefore adopted and incorporated all the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in our key themes below.
Our Approach
- Decarbonisation of our estate via carbon emissions reduction and sustainable procurement.
- Engagement of all our stakeholders by the use of our platform to inform, educate and inspire sustainable behaviours.
- Communication using our mediums to promote our actions and generate further awareness of sustainable initiatives to all our stakeholders and the wider community.
Enhancing the quality of education, and learning and development opportunities we already provide to our pupils and staff, we will run programmes throughout the year to raise awareness of this policy and increase knowledge about sustainability and the interconnectivity between humans, the environment and life through focussing on these key themes: –
- Health and wellbeing – including nutrition; impact of food and food wastes; the importance of neurodiversity; management of stress and anxiety for example with the recent addition of the Health Advantage App; and the significance of focussing on access to clean water and sanitation, decent work and economic growth, and eradicating poverty and hunger
- Responsible consumption and production – including the impact on climate, water, land and air quality; energy selection and efficiency; life on land and in water of products, their manufacture and use; and the importance of good specification when buying goods and services
- Partnerships – including the meaning of partnership; types of partners; understanding and optimising the added social value partnerships with supply chains, the community and charities creates; and relationship building for equality, peace and justice and sustainable cities, and innovation
- Widening access to quality education – through bursaries and assisted places in our schools and colleges and our charitable arm, the Dukes Foundation, which provides grant funding to charities and community programmes globally
Commitments, Implementation and Governance
A sustainability strategy has been agreed in May 2024 to move the organisation to its carbon net zero ambition by 2050. Dukes is committed to measuring its carbon footprint in line with the internationally recognised Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
This policy is consistent with our five strategic priorities;
- Operational resilience
- World class admissions
- Having the best staff
- Quality of product
- Activity as a responsible organisation
This policy is consistent with our values;
We lead with heart; We are a team; We love learning; We do it well.
The Group Sustainability Director will regularly review our plans and report to the Board.
