Transportation and Air

Background and Benefits:

School transportation has a direct impact on air quality and it is known that the use of fossil fuels is the number one contributor to greenhouse gas. Reducing the length and amount of transportation necessary and using environmentally friendly products (i.e. paint, cleaning materials, machines) helps to both improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions.

Current Practices and Engagement:

• • Environmentally responsible chemicals are used in all cleaning activities at AIS-R in an effort to reduce environmental impact and provide a safe cleaning environment for all

  • The school and compounds (communities) not connected to the school, use busses rather than individual cars where possible to transport students and staff to and from school

Success story:

With the creation of our new campus, attached to the Al Bustan Village compound, we were able to drastically reduce our contribution to greenhouse gasses. At our previous location, all teachers, staff and students had to commute to work. At our new campus, the large majority of our teaching staff lives on the compound and can bike or walk to work. About 25% of our student population live on the Al Bustan compound and no longer require cars and busses to get to school which saves over 2,000Kg of CO₂ per day.

Goal:

Our goal is to create a culture of carbon emission offsetting for flights. The school will create an “AIS-R Environmental Fund” for use on environmental sustainability projects. When flights are purchased for professional learning, or school business opportunities the school will contribute an appropriate portion to the AIS-R Environmental Fund based on distance traveled. Teachers will also be encouraged to offset the carbon emissions of their personal travel flights by contributing to the AIS-R Environmental Fund. Members of the wider school community will be made aware of this fund and encouraged to contribute as well.