Green School Leadership: What Does It Really Mean?

Green School Environment Accountability

In her closing remark of the meeting of The World Commission on Environment and Development in Tokyo, Japan, 1987, Gro Harlem Brundtland called the attention of the world to the ever increasing human population and the associated activities that have caused unintended damages to occur in the atmosphere, water, plants, animals, and soils. She warned the generation of the urgency of the environmental challenges that face us and asked for renewed commitment to action before it becomes too late. To end the meeting, the following declaration (Bruntland, 1987) was made by The World Commission on Environment and Development to target an improved world environment:

• 1.

  To re-examine the critical issues of environment and development, and formulate innovative, concrete, and realistic action proposals to deal with them;

• 2.

  To strengthen international cooperation on environment and development, and assess and propose new forms of cooperation that can break out of existing patterns and influence policies and events in the direction of needed change; and

• 3.

  To raise the level of understanding and commitment to action on the part of individuals, voluntary organizations, business, institutes and governments.

Pursuant to the declaration of The World Commission on Environment and Development, some progressive higher education institutions in the United States have responded by incorporating the achievement of green environment in their long-term strategic plans (Lockwood, 2006). Exemplar school systems nationwide have established green school goals to achieve in their school capital outlay projects and educational programs (Dejong, 2012; Cobb County School District Strategic Plan, 2013).