Schools Climate Conference

Cornwall Council held its second Schools Climate Conference on 18 November 2025 at New County Hall, bringing together schools, sustainability leads, and partners including Let’s Go Zero and Education Nature Parks. Building on the success of the first conference in July, schools are now showing real momentum – demonstrating commitment, creativity, and energy as they make plans to decarbonise their educational settings and reduce waste, while saving on energy bills, and teaching young people essential life skills.

The event focused on giving schools practical support and empowering young people to make sustainable choices at school and at home. Planned in partnership with ASPIRE Academy Trust, the conference brought together Aspire sustainability leads, headteachers, senior trust leaders, and educators from other settings to help finalise their Climate Action Plans. This work supports the Department for Education’s requirement that all educational settings have a nominated sustainability lead and a Climate Action Plan in place by the end of 2025.

Working together for a greener future

The day was designed to provide hands-on guidance and resources to help schools, focusing on:

Helping schools save energy in their buildings to reduce bills and teaching young people to do the same at home.
Improving biodiversity on school grounds and encouraging nature-based learning.
Promoting life skills such as gardening and sustainable food practices.
Reducing water usage and sharing water-saving tips for schools and homes.
Managing school waste, including food waste, and involving students in these efforts both at school and at home.
Teaching young people about flood defence and climate resilience, helping them understand how to protect their communities and prepare for extreme weather.
Encouraging schools and young people to work with and look after their local communities, fostering collaboration and shared responsibility for sustainability and looking after our community spaces.
Promoting active travel initiatives such as walking and cycling to reduce emissions and improve health.
Helping schools to locate resources to teach young people about healthy lifestyles – the importance of exercise and eating healthily.
Supporting teachers with climate education and wellbeing, including outdoor learning spaces that connect students with nature.

Highlights from feedback

The response from schools was overwhelmingly positive, with 100% of attendees feeling supported and rating the event as useful and inspiring. They enjoyed writing their climate action plans, networking with colleagues, and learning how to map out their school grounds during an education and nature workshop.

What schools said

“A fantastic day – very inspiring and full of useful ideas,” Teacher attendee.

“All of the sessions were helpful, and we’re excited to take these ideas back to our school,” Headteacher attendee.

It was heartening to see everyone in the room together sharing ideas, collaborating, and developing practical solutions to help their schools and young people take meaningful action for better environmental and human health.

Categories: Schools, Climate conference, Education, Decarbonisation, Climate action