Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, has launched the Green Tips for Schools campaign to mark Green Apple Day of Service.

Observed annually on last week of September every year, Green Apple Day of Service is a global movement that aims to put all children in schools that have clean and healthy air to breathe, where energy and resources are conserved and where the students can be inspired to dream of a brighter future.

As part of Green Apple Day of Service, service projects are undertaken by parents, students, teachers and organisations globally to transform schools into healthy, safe and green learning environments.

EmiratesGBC is observing it by distributing Green Tips to various educational institutions highlighting simple steps they can follow to promote energy and water use efficiency and conserve the environment.

Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of EmiratesGBC, said: It is important that we instil the importance of environmental conservation and rational use of resources in our young generation at the early age. Schools play a central role in further strengthening awareness. Our campaign has been designed to encourage students and schools to adopt several easy steps that will lead to a positive impact on the environment.

EmiratesGBC has distributed the Green Tips for Schools to over 25 educational institutions across the UAE. The key highlights include:

Aspire to be paperless: One should print papers only when there is an absolute necessity.
Serve local food in the school cafeteria: Food produced and served locally reduces the carbon footprint which comes from transportation. Sourcing locally also encourages local employment and contributes back to the local economy.
Avoid plastic bottles and paper cups: Encourage students and staff to bring their own bottles for water and carry mugs for coffee/tea. This reduces unnecessary waste going to landfill.
Switch off the lights: Turn off the lights when the day light/natural light is sufficient. Assign a class monitor for each class who will keep a check on turning off all the lights/monitors after everyone leaves the room and the lecture is over.
Use water efficiently: Water consumption rate per person in the UAE is 550 to 850 liters/day, which is considered one of the worlds highest. Installing water efficient fixtures (taps, water closets, urinals) can save potable water used for sewage conveyance by nearly 50 per cent (According to LEED Innovative Wastewater Technologies).

Maintain the room temperature: Keep the class room temperature at a moderate setting while you are in the room. 24 degrees is considered an ideal temperature during summer months.

The tips by EmiratesGBC also include recommendations to improve air quality, the need to recycle ink cartridges, measuring the classrooms carbon footprint and incorporating sustainability in the curriculum, among others.

For more details or to obtain a copy of the Green Tips for Schools, contact: Ms Aanal Patwari at events@emiratesgbc.org or visit http://emiratesgbc.org/tips/green-tips-for-school/ .

EmiratesGBC has developed a suite of activities, inclusive of networking events, technical workshops, focus days and facilitated training based around specific issues related to the built-environment that meet the needs of its members, of the UAE community, and the wider Middle East.