Net Zero School Project 2026/27 Academic Year

• Locally: The greenhouse gas (GHG) verification follows the Hong Kong EMSD’s “Guidelines to Account for and Report on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals for Buildings (Commercial, Residential or Institutional Purposes)” . This methodology is recognised as the standard for building-level carbon accounting in Hong Kong.
• Internationally: The Hong Kong Association for UNESCO has obtained official recognition from the UNESCO Greening Education Partnership to implement this green school certification in Hong Kong. The certification aligns with global frameworks for Green Schools.

The Greening Education Partnership (GEP) is a UN-backed initiative, led by UNESCO, launched at the 2022 Transforming Education Summit to prepare learners for climate change. It unites 97 countries and over 1,900 organisations to “green” education by 2030 through four key pillars: schools, curriculum, teacher training, and communities.

It leads efforts to achieve the target of transforming 50% of schools into green schools by 2030.

The ESDCarbon platform is a digital tool developed by the Hong Kong Institute of Education for Sustainable Development, designed specifically for carbon accounting. Participating schools will receive:
• A dedicated school account with guided setup.
• Data entry guidance for electricity, water, gas, paper, waste, and transportation (Scope 1 & 2 emissions).
• Automatic emission calculations based on selected emission factors.
• Record school’s green measures (e.g., energy saving, water saving, student & staff engagement) and future green initiatives with images and descriptions.
• Visual dashboards showing emission trends over time.
• Secure data storage for long-term tracking across multiple academic years.
Full guidance and technical support are provided during the project.

SDGCampus is an online learning hub offering learning materials on sustainable development. A dedicated course for this project will be created on the platform. Resources will be uploaded to the platform for participants to access, including:
Recordings of all online training sessions on carbon auditing for teachers and students.
• Case studies from Hong Kong and mainland low-carbon schools.
• Project Handbook
• Relevant UNESCO Standards and reports
Access is provided for the duration of the project and remains available after certification.

All live training sessions (carbon accounting workshops, ESG training, management briefings) are recorded. Registered participants receive secure access to the recordings via the project portal. Schools are encouraged to have at least one core team member attend live to enable Q&A, but asynchronous viewing is accepted toward attendance requirements (minimum 75% attendance equivalent via recording).

Each school must form a Core Carbon Accounting Team with the following composition:
– 3 Teachers From different subjects. At least 1 must be a manager (e.g., vice principal, panel head, or senior teacher).
– 6–30 Students, can be from the same or different year groups. No prior carbon accounting experience required.

The team must commit to attending (live or via recording) at least 75% of the project activities to be eligible for certificates.

After successful verification, the following outcomes and ongoing support are provided:

• Formal Documentation: The Hong Kong Institute of Education for Sustainable Development (HiESD) issues a dedicated Carbon Report to the school. The UNESCO Hong Kong Association (UHKA) issues an official verification statement confirming the school’s carbon footprint and reduction baseline.
• Tailored Recommendations: The Carbon Audit Report includes actionable recommendations tailored to the school’s context, covering ESG management, staff and student engagement, energy/water/paper-saving policies, and innovative practices.
• Ongoing Platform Access: The ESDCarbon platform remains active for schools to continue accessing emissions in the current reporting year.
• Continued Learning Access: Schools can access SDGCampus learning resources at any time, even after the project year concludes.
• Public Recognition: The project promotes school achievements on the UNESCO Hong Kong Association website, social media channels, and through multimedia content (e.g., success stories and video highlights). Schools are also encouraged to use these materials for their own communications.
• Pathway for Continued Participation: Schools are strongly encouraged to rejoin the program in the next academic year to track emissions reduction progress, demonstrate impact, and qualify for advanced recognition categories.

Project fees are set to cover training, platform access, expert visits, verification, reporting, and certification. Reference 2026/27 fees:
• Non-member schools: HKD 28,000
• Member schools of UNESCO Hong Kong Association: HKD 22,000
• Returning schools (select modules): HKD 18,000
Fees are payable by cheque or bank transfer. An invoice is issued upon registration.

The project facilitates structured collaboration between participating Hong Kong schools and selected low-carbon demonstration schools in Mainland China. Activities may include:
• Virtual exchange sessions for students to share carbon reduction projects.
• Teacher-to-teacher sharing on integrating low-carbon concepts into curricula.
• Potential in-person visits (subject to funding and scheduling).

*The sister-schools activities will be organised Case-by-case