2025 - 26 Academic Year Net Zero School Project
Registration Period: April 25, 2025 – September 20, 2025
2024-25 Net Zero School Project Highlight
2025-26 Net Zero School Project Information
Project Background and Overview:
In 2021, UNESCO launched the “Futures of Education” initiative, proposing an educational transformation toward a just, equitable, and sustainable future. This requires:
- Innovating teaching and learning models
- Emphasizing ecological, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary learning
- Supporting students in both acquiring and producing knowledge
- Developing critical thinking and knowledge application skills
- Encouraging research and innovation among teachers, students, academic institutions, and civil society organizations to collectively reimagine future education
Under the background of climate change challenges, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government released Hong Kong’s “Climate Action Plan 2050” in 2021, which received enthusiastic responses from the education sector.
Our Project Will:
- Provide tailored training programs for primary and secondary schools (covering students, teachers, and administrators)
- Assist schools in integrating sustainability and net zero into both school management and teaching curriculum
- Help schools to transform towards net zero from both Hardware (i.e., Reducing campus operational carbon emissions) and Software (i.e., Cultivating students’ awareness and habits of low-carbon lifestyle)
- Encourage schools to integrate carbon auditing and net zero with STEAM experiential learning projects
- Establish pioneering “Net Zero Demonstration Schools” in Hong Kong
- Host a certification ceremony, sharing sessions, and panel discussions to showcase the school’s commitment to and achievement in sustainable development to global, national, and local audiences.
- Promote the exchange of net zero transformation experiences among schools
With these efforts, we hope to make a global impact and inspire schools in Hong Kong and worldwide to discover innovative educational value in net zero goals and to unite forces to cultivate future talents capable of addressing global challenges.
Project Highlights:
Online carbon accounting workshop
Teachers and students participated in the online carbon accounting workshop to learn about Hong Kong’s standards on carbon emission calculation
In-Person ESG and Low Carbon Lifestyle workshops
Students participated in ESG and low-carbon lifestyle workshops to transform carbon neutrality theory into real life applications and actions
Training for teachers and managers on integrating STEAM education
1. Online training on sustainable development and low carbon school management, and how to integrate "climate action" into classroom teaching and STEAM education
2. Online training on the school’s ESG practice and strategy, including why schools need to conduct ESG reporting and how to use reports to communicate with stakeholders.
School visit – experts provide hands-on guidance on identifying emission sources
1. A mentor with professional carbon emission calculation and auditing experience will visit the school to provide guidance to the working group. This will Help schools to improving carbon accounting spreadsheet and resolve challenges.
2. An online mentorship session will also be arranged before carbon verification to ensure document completeness
Conduct carbon verification, complete carbon report, showcase achievements and present certificates
1. Auditors will conduct online verification for schools
2. HiESD will arrange preparation of carbon audit report for schools
3. Participating schools will be invited to celebrate the "United Nations World Environment Day" on June 5, 2026. The event will feature "Net Zero Demonstration School" certificate presentation and thematic sharing sessions.
Project Outcome Overview
1. The school will receive a dedicated carbon audit report, which includes recommendations for future low-carbon and emission reduction measures.
2. Ongoing promotion of the project's outcomes and net zero demonstration schools' achievements on international platforms to build a sustainable school branding.
3. Student members of the project's core carbon accounting team will be awarded "Carbon Accounting Green Youth Leader" certificates.
4. Teachers attending the training will receive corresponding CPD (Continuing Professional Development) hours.
Project Schedule:
| Activity | Date and Time | Venue | Details | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registration | April 25, 2025 – September 20, 2025 | Online | Fill in Online Registration Form | All Hong Kong Primary and Secondary Schools |
| Schools provide namelist of core carbon accounting team | September 20, 2025 – October 5, 2025 | Online | The school needs to organize a core team for carbon accounting (including: teachers – at least 3 teachers from different subjects, at least 1 of whom is a manager or above; Students – 6 to 20 students, they could come from the same or different year groups) | Schools that have registered successfully |
| Sustainable development and low carbon school management training | November 04, 2025, 4:00pm-6:00pm | Online (Zoom) |
The training content includes: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the international progress of education for sustainable development. Sharing cases and methods of how schools could integrate “climate action” into classrooms and STEAM education helping school managementHunderstand how to set short-, medium- and long-term goals for school emission reduction based on the carbon emission baseline Establishing and implementing emission reduction policies. |
All teachers and management are welcome to participate |
| School Carbon Accounting Training (Secondary School Group) | October 31, November 07, 2025, 4:00pm-5:30pm | Online (Zoom) |
The training content includes: Understanding Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases Understanding Hong Kong’s standards on carbon emission calculation Learn about how to set emission reduction targets and transform towards net zero |
All teachers and students are welcome to participate |
| School Carbon Accounting Training (Primary School Group) | October 30, November 06, 2025, 4:00pm-5:30pm | Online (Zoom) | Same as the above | Same as the above |
| ESG Workshop（Secondary School Group） | November 29, 2025, 11:30 am – 13:00 pm | Hong Kong Institute of Education for Sustainable Development | What is “environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG)”? Why schools and corporates need to care about and actively implement ESG practices | Students in the carbon accounting core team |
| Low Carbon Lifestyle Workshop ( Primary School Group) | November 29, 2025, 9:30 am – 11:00 am | Hong Kong Institute of Education for Sustainable Development | Low carbon lifetyle actions – what can we do from “food, clothing, housing and transportation” aspects? | Students in the carbon accounting core team |
| School’s ESG practice and strategy training | November 25, 2025, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm | Online (Zoom) | Why schools need to conduct ESG reporting and how to use reports to communicate with stakeholders. | Teachers and Managers in the carbon accounting core team |
| Schools Prepare Carbon Accounting Spreadsheet | Novermber 2025 – Janurary 2026 | in schools | The organiser will support schools through email and telephone communications if the school encounters any challenges. | Core Carbon Accounting Team |
| School visit – experts provide hands-on guidance on identifying emission sources | Janurary – Feburary 2026, book appointment with schools. Each school visit will take 1.5~2 hours | Visit to each school | A mentor with professional carbon emission calculation and auditing experience will visit the school to provide guidance to the working group. Help schools to improving carbon accounting spreadsheet and resolve challenges | Carbon accounting core team |
| Final check – online guidance | March – April 2026, book appointments with schools. Each school will take 30 minutes ~ 1hour | Online (Zoom) | An online mentorship session before carbon verification to ensure document completeness | Carbon accounting core team |
| Carbon verification | March – April 2026, book appointments with schools. Each school will take 45 minutes ~ 1hour | Online (Zoom) | Auditors conduct online verification for schools | Carbon accounting core team |
| “Net Zero Demonstration School” Certification Ceremony and Sharing Sessions | June 5, 2026, World Environment Day | Hong Kong Institute of Education for Sustainable Development | Celebrate the “United Nations World Environment Day” on June 5, 2026, with “Net Zero Demonstration School” certificate presentation and thematic sharing sessions. | Principal of the school and the Carbon accounting core team |
* The minimum number of schools required to start the project is 8. Please note that the organiser may reasonably adjust the above schedule based on the number of registered and participating schools.
Registration Requirements
The project sincerely invites all primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong to actively sign up and participate. Participating schools can register on the project website: https://unesco.hk/web/towards-net-zero-school-project-phase3/. The Secretariat of the UNESCO Hong Kong Association – Hong Kong Institute of Education for Sustainable Development will contact the schools for further follow-up and confirmation.
* The school needs to ensure that it can recruit enough students and teachers to form a core team for carbon calculation. The core team should be able to attend at least 75% of the activities of the project.
*Schools are required to pay programme fees by cheque or bank transfer:
– Non-member schools: HKD 27,000
– Member schools: HKD 21,600
– Previous participating schools may choose to only participate in items (3) and (4), which include one on-site guidance session, one online guidance session, carbon verification and carbon report, and the certification ceremony: HKD18,000
(After submitting the registration form, the organiser will issue an invoice.)
Bank account details 銀行賬戶信息 :
Account Name 帳戶名稱：Hong Kong Institute of Education for Sustainable Development 香港可持續發展教育學院
Swift Code 銀行代碼：HSBCHKHHHKH
Bank Address 銀行地址：1 Queen’s Road Central, Central Hong Kong 香港中環皇后大道中 1 號
Bank 銀行名稱：The HK & Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. (HSBC) 香港上海滙豐銀行
Account No. 帳戶號碼：813-281888-001
Enquiry
Email: esd@unesco.hk
Tel：+852 2312 7696