FIS believes addressing global sustainability is a moral imperative. The school's commitment to sustainability is central to achieving its mission of developing socially responsible and internationally minded citizens, and serves as a cornerstone policy along with the school’s Equity, Justice and Belonging policy.

FIS has adopted the United Nations definition of sustainability: “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” To achieve sustainability the school embraces the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) which provide a comprehensive framework to tackle global challenges such as poverty, access to education, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.

The school has a responsibility to prepare students for these complex and systemic problems and will work to embed sustainability into all levels of the curriculum. Students will feel empowered and able to act with agency, know that they are listened to and cared about, and understand that their scholarship, creativity, and passion can create sustainable solutions.

The school shall create a culture of sustainability by taking a whole-school approach which encompasses not only teaching and learning, but also school governance and administration, strategic planning, facilities and operations management, financial asset investing, and the school’s community partnerships.

The Board and Administration are tasked with ensuring that the school, students, and broader FIS community develop and implement sustainable actions to the greatest extent possible to mitigate the challenges defined in the SDGs.

The school’s Sustainability Council, consisting of administrators, faculty, staff, students and other community members, is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the school’s sustainability policy. The Sustainability Council’s integration team shall review the implementation of the guiding principles for sustainability best practices and prepare an annual “Sustainability Report” that is made available to the Board of Trustees. The Sustainability Council’s operations team shall report to the Buildings and Grounds Committee on a regular basis.