At ECS Scotland, we’re proud to share that we’ve been officially accredited by Green Standard Schools — a global organisation promoting environmental responsibility in language education. This accreditation recognises our commitment to sustainability and helps us continue to reduce our environmental impact in real, measurable ways.
Whether you’re studying English for work or leisure, choosing a sustainable English course in Scotland means making a positive choice for the planet too.
What is Green Standard Schools?
Green Standard Schools (GSS) is a non-profit initiative supporting environmental sustainability in the language teaching sector. Accreditation is based on 12 core commitments — from energy reduction and plastic avoidance to curriculum integration and sustainable travel.
We applied in 2023, and after a detailed review, we were delighted to receive our accreditation in February 2024.
This means:
- You’ll see the GSS logo on our website and communications
- We’re held to high environmental standards across all aspects of school life
- Sustainability is no longer an optional extra — it’s central to how we teach, travel and operate
Everyday actions with a long-term impact
The GSS application process prompted us to reflect on everything — from our energy use to how we clean the toilets!
It’s helped us take small but meaningful steps, including:
- Reducing paper use in the classroom
- Choosing local, low-impact suppliers
- Asking: What do we do with empty toner cartridges? Who makes our biscuits?
Students are part of our sustainability story
We’re inspired by how many ECS Scotland students now travel to us without flying — choosing trains, ferries or even bicycles instead. Read one of their stories in our blog. "If you want some pain, use the ferry and train".
What are the 12 Green Standard Schools commitments?
To earn our accreditation, we committed to the following 12 actions:
- Reduce energy consumption and switch to sustainable suppliers
- Reduce water use in school operations
- Reduce paper use and move towards paperless systems
- Discourage single-use plastics for students, staff and suppliers
- Reuse and recycle wherever possible
- Prioritise low-impact, local purchasing
- Make marketing activities more environmentally responsible
- Offset travel emissions (we support The Woodland Trust and Trees for Life)
- Encourage homestay providers to adopt green practices
- Include eco-friendly options in our social programme
- Ensure all staff and students understand our environmental policy
- Integrate environmental themes into the English teaching curriculum
