Saving energy in schools

Information article on the ongoing project!

Energy-saving models in Beckum schools - environmental and climate protection with profit!

This is the motto under which the Beckum schools are entering the final stage of the funding project this school year, which has focussed on environmental and climate protection campaigns since the start of the project in 2019 and aims to save energy and costs at the same time.

As a climate-conscious municipality, the town of Beckum coordinates the project supported by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, which aims to raise awareness of energy and resource-saving behaviour among children, teaching staff and parents in order to protect our environment in the long term. In addition to the technical energy and climate protection measures, educational support plays a particularly important role in the four-year project.

What is being subsidised?
Funding is provided for the introduction of energy-saving models in educational institutions - particularly in schools and day-care centres. As part of the projects, children, young people and employees of the facilities are motivated and professionally supported to actively contribute to climate protection. In addition to training building managers, so-called energy teams are formed together with the children and young people. Together, they collect, monitor and compare consumption data in the daycare centre or school buildings, develop savings measures and implement them in order to reduce energy and water consumption and produce less waste. These climate protection measures are rewarded through various bonus systems. The introduction and implementation of the energy-saving models is subsidised for up to four years.

Funding is provided for expenditure on additional specialist staff employed as part of the project, including further material expenses or expert external service providers, depending on the scope of the tasks, accompanying public relations work to inform and activate parents, teachers and caretakers, as well as material expenses for the initial implementation of a starter package in the following areas: educational work on climate protection equipping the energy teams low-investment measures in the building sector public relations work for individual action days in the educational institutions.

Why it is worthwhile:
Energy-saving models show potential for saving energy and, with accompanying educational measures, help to embed climate protection and the conscious use of resources in the thoughts and actions of the various user groups. The project allows you a low-threshold introduction to the topic of climate protection, in which you directly involve the children, young people and employees of your organisation(s). This enables children and young people to bring environmental and climate protection ideas into their families and circle of friends as a matter of course - which encourages them to imitate the newly learned behaviours. By specifically reducing energy and water consumption in your organisation, you save electricity and therefore operating costs - and at the same time reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the amount of waste also helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Use the multiplier effect:
The energy teams sensitise people within the institution - and ideally beyond - to the topic of climate protection.

Some of the schools carry out their own sustainable projects and, in addition, more in-depth activities under the guidance of the project coordinator, in cooperation with the town of Beckum. This allows each educational centre to develop individually, while still being in direct comparison with the other institutions.
The focal points that are primarily implemented in the schools are aspects of behavioural education, such as saving water when washing hands, effective ventilation, waste separation and switching off electrical appliances. But also initial scientific approaches to energy generation itself and consumption, as well as ecological points and environmental influences.

The identification of the energy consumption data and the organisational restructuring towards sustainable further development is again the responsibility of the energy teams of the teaching staff in cooperation with the city of Beckum.