Sustainability at our School

Our school is a “living lab” where students can learn about sustainability through real-world examples, hands-on projects and daily practices. This can help them develop an understanding of environmental and social challenges and learn how decisions can make a positive impact.

Sustainability education is one of the pedagogical objectives of EEB3 as set out in our school’s multiannual pedagogical plan.

Our school has implemented a wide range of projects linked to sustainability including:

• • solar panels on the school roof
• • Erasmus+ projects linked to the environment
• • gardening and Save our Soil projects
• • activities with Bruxelles Mobilité
• • recycling projects

As well as learning about sustainability in different classes and subjects, our school also offers the new Baccalaureate ‘complementary course’ on Sustainability and Active Citizenship. This optional course for S6 and S7 helps students to critically explore the environmental, social, and economic challenges of sustainability while emphasising the importance of civic engagement. The course combines theoretical knowledge with practical activities, encouraging active participation, collaboration and advocacy.

See this short video where our S6 students explain what they are learning on this new innovative course.

Eco Flag

We are proud that our school was awarded the Eco-Schools label in 2023, recognising our commitment to environmental and sustainable practices. This international award celebrates the efforts of our students, staff and wider school community in making sustainability a priority.

Achieving the Eco-Schools label required the collective effort of students, staff, and parents. First, we formed an Eco-Committee to lead the initiative, which included representatives from all parts of the school community. We then carried out an environmental review to assess our current practices and identify areas for improvement. With the findings, we created an action plan focusing on key areas such as waste reduction, mobility and energy efficiency.

By making sustainability an integral part of school life and meeting the necessary criteria, we successfully earned the Eco-Schools label, recognising our commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability. We are now continuing our journey to make our school greener and more sustainable.

See the list of schools in Brussels who have been awarded the Eco Flag.

Eco Committee

Our Eco-committee brings together school management, teachers, students and parents. The group chaired by our School Director, Ms Sciberras, meets around three times a year. We discuss projects underway in Secondary and Primary related to the environment, climate and biodiversity. Students also come with ideas on how to make the school greener and more sustainable.

APEEE Services and Sustainability

The parents' association of our school is responsible for the canteen, transport services and extracurricular activities. In carrying out this work we are mindful of the environmental impact of our decisions.

Canteen

Healthy, nutritious food is essential for our children's wellbeing and their ability to learn. Our canteen is not just a place to eat but also an opportunity for students to experience sustainability in action.

Here’s how we ensure our meals are healthy, sustainable, and delicious:

• • Seasonal menus: Our meals are carefully designed to be healthy and based on seasonal produce.
• • Vegetarian options: We include at least one vegetarian meal per week, with vegetarian choices available daily for students of all ages.
• • Local ingredients: We prioritise local produce. For example, the vast majority of our meat is sourced from Belgium.
• • Sustainable fish: We serve fish certified by the MSC label to ensure sustainability.
• • Age-appropriate portions: Serving sizes are tailored to students' ages to minimise food waste.
• • Waste reduction efforts: We actively monitor canteen waste and continuously work to reduce it.
• • Adaptable meal planning: We work with the school and adjust food quantities based on student attendance (eg reducing quantities if groups of students will be absent due to school trips and excursions).
• • Reusable dishes: To cut down on plastic waste, we use reusable dishes for OIB garderie.
• • Delicious meals: Above all, our team ensures the food is not only healthy but also tasty – one of the best ways to prevent waste!

Through these efforts, we aim to create a canteen experience that supports children’s health and enhances their learning about sustainability.

Transport

Many of our children take the school bus every day, which replaces a large number of individual car trips. Over the past few years we have increased the number of electric buses on our routes. We now have four large buses and one smaller electric bus on our routes and we are exploring the possibility of extending this further.

Extracurricular Actitivies

On Tuesday afternoons two extracurricular groups on school gardening and the art of recycling take place for students between P1 and S1. During this activity, the children learn about living in harmony with nature and respecting the environment. Our instructors address topic such as water, pollution and energy consumption. In an educational and fun way, children learn to recycle everyday objects to give them a second life. Part of the activities take place outdoors in the school garden, where children learn the basics of gardening. Through this extracurricular activity, the children learn about the actions we can all take every day to reduce our environmental footprint.

Connecting the European Schools

Our school is also involved in the InterParent activities regarding sustainability. The parent contact points on sustainability from the different schools meet online on a regular basis to share ideas and update each other on activities related to sustainability in the different schools.

See the Padlet board of activities related to sustainability taking place in the different schools.

The sustainability contact point for our school is also a member of the Education for Sustainable Development Working Group of the European Schools. This working group is currently developing a draft vision document on sustainability for all the European schools.

Want to Get Involved?

Would you like to get involved and contribute with your time, energy and expertise? Do you have an idea on how to make EEB3 greener and more sustainable? Please let us know!

Learn more about sustainability at EEB3 on our school’s website.