Sustainability

Solar panels on Ashburton, Keynes, the Sports Hall, and Firwood buildings offset energy use and generate income through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). Solar energy heats water in the Sports Hall. Waterless urinals and a 30,000-litre rainwater tank under the School House playing field support water conservation and irrigation. An advanced energy monitoring system, including AI, tracks and manages energy use, while a site-wide building management system controls heating and ventilation, supported by Purrmetrix monitoring. The Passivhaus building at Southfield is highly energy-efficient, requiring minimal heating even in winter.

The installation of LED lighting throughout the school has resulted in notable energy savings. We continuously invest in building improvements to enhance energy performance, such as the recent replacement of windows in the Newton building.

Our site team continue to actively work with thermal imaging techniques to identify opportunities for further improvements to our infrastructure.

The School Transport Strategy and Travel Plan is a comprehensive document designed to provide parents, pupils, and school staff with the information and tools they need to travel to and from school in the safest and most sustainable ways. The plan is continually updated to reflect the latest measures and actions taken by the school.

Key objectives and initiatives include reducing traffic and promoting sustainable travel, the use of the HomeRun app to facilitate carpooling, and the operation of a home-to-school transport service in conjunction with Kura. The school also collaborates with other schools in Cambridge through the Independent Schools’ Travel Forum to share transport routes and promote sustainable travel.

St Faith’s actively promotes car sharing among parents and staff to reduce the number of individual car journeys. The HomeRun app network allows parents to connect with others living nearby, facilitating carpooling and reducing travel expenses. Additionally, the school actively promotes sustainable travel events throughout the year to raise awareness and encourage eco-friendly commuting options, and to encourage fewer car journeys to the school.

St Faith’s has significantly reduced its carbon footprint through a comprehensive sustainability strategy. This includes updating the School Transport Strategy and Travel Plan, introducing new travel initiatives to reduce traffic, and planning to heat buildings with renewable energy to phase out gas boilers. A partnership with Winnow has notably reduced food waste, as highlighted in a case study, emphasizing the positive impact on the school’s sustainability goals.

St Faith’s focuses on designing climate-resilient buildings by adapting existing structures and using green materials for new constructions. These designs ensure buildings remain functional throughout the 21st century, providing a healthy environment for children. Climate change implications for comfort, construction, and water management are considered, with detailed thermal modelling and embodied carbon calculations. These initiatives highlight St Faith’s commitment to sustainability and creating a greener future for the school community.

As well as integrating sustainability into its curriculum, St Faith’s encourages students to engage in community efforts like volunteering with local environmental groups and participating in clean-up events. This involvement helps students understand the broader impact of their actions and fosters environmental responsibility, empowering them to make a positive impact.

Over the last few years, we have virtually eliminated the use of cleaning chemicals in the housekeeping department. We have also implemented other environmental and cost-effective cleaning solutions in the school:

Cleaning

We use Tersano Lotus Pro as our general cleaning sanitiser across the school. This is a water-based sanitiser that contains no chemicals and works by putting ozone into the water. We had our first dispenser installed a year before the Covid outbreak. This proved invaluable to our cleaning during Covid, as this was one of the first sanitisers proven to kill Covid (plus other dangerous bacteria like E. coli, salmonella, MRSA). We have since installed 2 other dispensers. More info here: Tersano SAO Dispenser – Tersano Inc. (CA)

Rather than using a traditional mop and bucket to clean the hard floors we use i-mops, which clean up to 70% faster and 90% cleaner than conventional wet mopping and uses much less water. We fill the i-mops with the Tersano Lotus Pro.

We remove limescale using a BubbleFlush machine that removes limescale by using ultrasonic vibrations. These vibrations generate small yet powerful bubbles in the water, which eventually implode with force, effectively removing limescale and stubborn dirt.

Hand Soap

We use Soap2o. This is an environmentally friendly and cost-effective soap which has also helped us to reduce our single use plastic. Soap2o use no plastic in their packing.

Lucart EcoNatura

We use Lucart EcoNatural paper and dispensers. EcoNatural is the innovative paper and dispenser system that gives new life to beverage cartons. Thanks to an innovative technology, Lucart separates the components of beverage cartons: from cellulose fibres it creates Fiberpack®, with which it produces paper, and from aluminium and polyethylene it produces Al.Pe.®, the new raw material used for making dispensers.

The next innovation we are considering for Housekeeping is the Tersano IClean FLO, which can be fitted to washing machines therefore eliminating washing detergents.