Carbon Neutrality Journey

The Northwest School was founded with a strong commitment to the environment. Originally named The Northwest School of the Arts, Humanities and the Environment, Northwest adopts a whole school sustainability model, weaving environmental sustainability into a dynamic liberal arts curricula. Northwest was the first school to request an environmental evaluation by the Northwest Association of Independent schools in 2013. In 2016 Northwest created a new position, now held by Jenny Cooper, the Director of Environmental Education and Sustainability. In 2018 they transferred 100% of the endowment to sustainable and socially responsible investments. Northwest also boasts a zero-waste dining hall, urban farm and garden, and sustainable library guide in addition to multiple student organizations like the Environmental Interest Group and Carbon Neutrality Task Force.

The first inventory of Northwest's greenhouse gas emissions was compiled by Jena Utaski (NWS ’20) as part of an independent study with Jenny Cooper (Director of Environmental Education & Sustainability at NWS). This inventory made use of data spanning several years to provide an estimated yearly emissions summary. The inventory inspired the formation of the Carbon Neutrality Task Force, a coalition of students, staff, faculty and parents dedicated to reducing emissions at our school.

This inventory, the second inventory of Northwest's greenhouse gas emissions builds on the vision of the first. By applying the World Resource Institute's (WRI) GHG Corporate Standard reporting protocol we benefit from an iterative framework that allows for comparison to other reporting organizations. Standardizing these findings will improve the consistency of these reports and enable participation on public reporting platforms.