October Newsletter
Hi Eco-Coordinator,
Welcome to the first Eco-Schools newsletter of the academic year! If you haven’t already, read our latest Annual Impact Report and celebrate being part of a youth-led environmental movement that empowers young people and makes a real difference for our planet.
This month’s big news is the return of Cut Your Carbon. The campaign runs throughout November, features brand-new pupil challenges, and is as easy to deliver as ever! Register for Cut Your Carbon today, read on for more Eco-Schools news and events!
Cut Your Carbon 2026!
From November and throughout Winter, Cut Your Carbon challenges young people across the UK to complete nine carbon-saving actions, from eating plant-based meals to using refillable water bottles. Taking part is simple: register (or simply login if you registered last year), print and distribute the challenge checklist, collect your results, then submit them to calculate your school community’s carbon savings.
Count Your Carbon
Count Your Carbon, our free carbon footprint calculator for schools and nurseries, is now live again after its summer hiatus! If you haven’t yet calculated your footprint, click to get started. If you’re already a user, it’s time to consider completing this year’s calculation. For 2026/27, we’ve introduced an improved experience, including enhanced reporting, updated emissions data, and expanded resources to support your decarbonisation journey.
Renewal Discount
If you achieved a Green Flag between May and July 2026, don’t forget to log in and secure a 15% renewal discount on your 2026/27 application. Simply start a new application and achieve 30 points across all sections by midnight on 1st November. We’ll then confirm your discount and apply it automatically when you submit your renewal application in 2027.
Early Bird Competition
Every action counts. That’s why everyone who starts a Green Flag application and achieves 30 points by midnight on 1st November will be entered into a prize draw to win a Niche Environmental Bee Post worth £700. Open to all applicants, new or renewal, this beautiful prize will support biodiversity and create a lasting habitat for pollinators on your site.
Case Study: Belle Vue Girls Academy
If you want to feel inspired, watch the case study video above from Belle Vue Girls’ Academy! The video follows their six year journey to make their school more sustainable. It’s a powerful response to the question: ‘Can the actions of one school really make a difference?’
If you have a video you’d like to share with our vast network of schools across England, get in touch to feature in a future newsletter!
Eco-Projects: Promote the Waste Hierarchy
For 2026/27, we’ve launched almost 20 new Eco-Schools projects for schools and nurseries! To explore them, open an application, head to Step 3, and click on Resources. Schools and colleges can find the projects in our 50 Eco-Projects Directory, while nurseries should head to our Eco-Themed Early Years Activities resource.
Our first spotlight project of the year is Promoting the Waste Hierarchy. England produces far too much waste, this project encourages pupils to explore the waste hierarchy before reimagining it in a way that’s relevant to their own setting. Pupils can then share their new hierarchy with their wider school community, inspiring others to think differently about waste and take action to reduce it!
What Else is Happening?
- Friday 16th October is JUST ONE Tree Day! The concept is simple: hold a non-uniform day and collect donations, then for every £1 raised, JUST ONE Tree will plant a CO₂-absorbing, biodiversity-supporting tree through one of its global restoration projects. So far, 478,031 trees have been planted thanks to children taking part. Help grow that total!
- On 6th November, join schools worldwide for the Plastic Clever Schools International Day of Action! Explore the links between plastic pollution and the climate crisis through assemblies, expert talks and hands-on activities. Over 500 schools took part in 2025, and this year, yours could be one of them! Register today.
- Schools and colleges using oil to heat their buildings could face higher energy costs as temperatures drop. This autumn and winter, education settings using oil heating systems in England are entitled to receive FREE government-funded support to reduce energy costs and cut emissions. Click here to find out more and access support.
- Want to help your Key Stage 3 students explore solutions to tackling climate change and the part they can play in the future? Engineering UK’s Climate Schools Programme offers free, curriculum-linked lesson plans and activities covering science, geography and English – ready to use and easy to adapt. If you work in a primary school you can search through hundreds of activities and resources instead!
- On Wednesday 14th October, Let’s Go Zero will host a free webinar exploring the OVO Foundation Nature Prize and how schools, colleges, and nurseries can apply for one of 30 £500 cash prizes. During the session, previous winners will share how they used their funding and the positive impact their projects had on both pupils and the environment.
- Climate Ed has launched a new schools programme, bringing together its award-winning climate education resources to help pupils understand climate science, climate solutions, and practical climate action. Suitable for KS2, the programme explores climate science and solutions, helps pupils understand how to take meaningful action, supports schools in developing climate action plans, and helps build key skills and knowledge for the future.
- In September 2026, the UK Government published updated School Food Standards. With school meals representing one of the largest sources of a school’s carbon footprint, the new guidance is welcome news for Eco-Schools. The standards place less emphasis on serving meat and greater emphasis on fruit, vegetables, pulses, and wholegrains, helping schools offer more planet-friendly meals. Explore the updated guidance below and share it with your catering team!
Whatever your sustainability goals for the year ahead, we wish you the very best of luck. We’re excited to see what your pupils achieve and are here to support you every step of the way.
