Strategic guidance and facilitation to co-create a place-based Whole School Sustainability roadmap
The Client: International Community School (ICS) of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The Challenge: ICS Addis is school that serves children of over 72 nationalities from age 3 through Grade 12. When the leaders of ICS Addis decided to adopt IBE’s Whole School Sustainability (WSS) Framework, they didn’t know how to begin. With more than 900 students, 400 faculty and staff, dedicated board members, and a deeply engaged community of families, the leaders sought out help in navigating the collaborative process that is foundational to successful WSS.
Our Approach: IBE traveled to Ethiopia to co-create a community-driven roadmap to deeply embed sustainability throughout ICS Addis’ culture, campus, and curriculum. In a full-day workshop, IBE guided students, faculty, staff, and school leaders in exploring systems thinking and interactive visioning to explore what sustainability means uniquely for ICS Addis, given its unique place, people, culture, and potential as a learning community. IBE also facilitated small-group meetings with diverse stakeholders across the school community. The resulting shared vision was for the school to be a “living laboratory” where sustainability is practiced daily. IBE’s facilitation aligned participants around strategies to integrate environmental stewardship and cultural sustainability into governance, teaching, learning, and the physical campus.
The Outcomes: IBE guided ICS Addis in identifying Whole School Sustainability goals and action areas that reflect the school’s unique context and aspirations. Its co-created goals are to have sustainability integrated into decision making and daily life, a culture of care and accountability, and continuous improvement. To achieve these goals, the school will focus on strengthening sustainability leadership; infusing sustainability across curricula; expanding outdoor learning environments; increasing renewable energy and water stewardship; and establishing progress tracking systems. By bringing together diverse voices and co-designing a clear, aspirational, and achievable roadmap, IBE has helped ICS Addis begin its journey to catalyze long-term cultural and institutional change.
Key Outcomes
- Co-created a place-based, community-informed Whole School Sustainability roadmap
Deliverables
- Whole School Sustainability workshop facilitation, agenda, and interactive activities
- Meetings with diverse stakeholder groups
- Workshop and meetings summary report
- Sustainability action tracking logs
