Funded by the DfE, Climate Ambassadors match volunteer climate experts with education settings.
Part of Let’s Go Zero, Climate Action Advisors are independent experts who offer free support for schools, colleges, and nurseries across England.
Start to improve your catering, food and waste
The food we eat, the way we prepare it, and how we dispose of rubbish all create emissions. Look for ways to make your practices in these areas more efficient.
Examine the types and amounts of waste your setting produces, and your waste disposal practices. Understanding this will help you to identify opportunities to reduce your environmental impact.
Ask your staff, parents and guardians, children and young people, suppliers and the local community, how to best make your waste practices more sustainable.
Use the findings from your waste audit to identify some simple, immediate changes which will improve your waste practices. This could include reducing waste, repurposing and reusing items, improving your recycling, and composting.
Collaborate with your catering staff and suppliers to identify opportunities to reduce food waste.
Use the findings from your food and catering audit to identify simple, immediate changes which will make your setting's food practices more sustainable.
Review the types and sources of food provided at your setting, and how it is procured, prepared, served, and disposed of.
Once you have identified some food waste hotspots through collaboration with your catering staff and suppliers, you should choose to progress any easy, low-cost actions that can deliver immediate or near-term benefits.