Sustainable Schools

Robin Happel is originally from east Tennessee, near the center of coal country. She has worked with the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, the Bronx Zoo, the UN Environment Programme, and other NGOs devoted to sustainable development. She has also represented the UN Association at the 2020 High-Level Political Forum, the UN Youth Climate Summit, the Global Climate Action Summit, and currently as a Global Goals Ambassador for Climate Action.

As an environmental law student, Robin is deeply passionate about environmental and climate justice, and helping to ensure a just transition for coal country and other frontline communities around the world. During law school, she has collaborated with Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change on emerging climate litigation pathways, and has also worked on climate risk and indigenous rights.

Speaks About

•  Puzzled by the Paris Agreement? Learn more about climate law in this friendly, entry-level explainer video that's geared towards students, not just barristers and attorneys 
• Climate law is an emerging area of litigation around the world. In this video, learn how climate law intersects with securities law, international human rights law, and other UN frameworks

 I believe we can rise, phoenix-like, from today's burning global challenges. All of us, and our children, can thrive in the coming decades, because we can build a regenerative global economy, an ecosystem of regenerative businesses.
 Today I apply the expertise gathered across three careers (particle physicist, manager with Procter and Gamble, serial startup founder) to bring that vision to reality. I incubate regenerative startups; am starting a seed stage investment fund for ecosystems of regenerative startups; consult to multi-nationals and start-ups on harnessing conflict to drive their own regeneration; and I have just published "Rebuild: the Economy, Leadership, and You, a toolkit for builders of a better world."

Speaks About

• The practical actions we can take to grow ourselves bigger than our challenges, build profitable impact businesses, and a regenerative circular global economy to rise to the challenges of the Climate Emergency, the 17 UN SDG, etc ​

Energy Transition Engineering: I am very interested in the new methodologies and tools needed to change existing systems to rapidly shift away from fossil fuels. I have carried out research on every type of renewable and alternative energy technology, and sustainable energy systems. I have developed the Interdisciplinary Transition Management Engineering (InTIME) Methodology and lead an international group in the emerging field. Like Safety Engineering, Transition Engineering actions social responsibility and sound science to deliver change projects that down-shift the exposure to fossil fuel supply and climate change risks. I am interested in research in energy transition of buildings, cities, transportation and freight. I have also worked with rural and remote communities on sustainable development.

Speaks About

• Her research interests are in energy systems - in particular the large scale changes to existing complex energy systems required to meet the requirements for mitigation of global warming.
• She has proposed a new specialization in engineering called "Transition Engineering" which works in this space: projects to adapt and change existing systems in the forward operating environment.

Matthew Benjamin
Founder of Kapes

Matthew Benjamin is the British founder of Kapes, a UAE born sustainable school uniforms brand, catering to schools globally. Having spent the last 3 years building and running sustainable bespoke menswear tailor, Benjamin Siggers, his desire to have a positive impact on a larger scale grew. Learning all he could about the impact that manufacturing clothing has on the earth, Matthew decided to take his learnings into developing sustainable school uniforms.

 Armed with the tools and knowledge acquired from Benjamin Siggers, and prior to this, while launching and managing an office for Tom James, the world’s largest custom clothing company, Matthew is now able to further develop his passion for finding sustainable solutions within textiles and adapt this to school uniforms through his work with Kapes.

 Through Kapes, Matthew hopes to play an integral role in empowering children to become change-makers, using Kapes as a tool to educate children about sustainability, encouraging them to be more connected to the things they buy, those who make them, and the places they are made. As these children become adults, they will inevitably be more conscious consumers, educating the generations to come through setting an example. By creating a new standard in the school uniforms market for quality, sustainability, and transparency, Matthew hopes to make a difference and disrupt the market. 

Speaks About

• Helping schools reduce their environmental impact by switching to sustainable school uniforms
• Climate Crisis awareness to empower children to be more connected to the things they wear and buy, the people that make these things, the places they are made, and the impact that this has both environmentally and socially
• Generation of conscious consumers who will help us get out of a situation that previous generations created.

The Opening Plenary of the SCOPE 2020 Event: Welcome address by Mrs. Asha Alexander, Principal and Executive Leader Climate Change, GEMS Dubai Key note address by Mr. Niclas Svenningsen, Manager – United Nations Climate Change, Global Climate Action, Germany Speech by Ms. Licypriya Kangujam, child environmental activist, India. Address by Ms. Zenna Hopson, ZA Partners, erstwhile Chairperson of Ofsted Speech by Syed Kifa Bukhari, child environmental activist, KGS Key note address by Mr. Angus Mackay, Director, Division for Planet Manager, Green Development and Climate Change, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Video Story on Sustainability Address by Ms. Melanie Harwood, Co-founder Harwood Education and eduCCate Global Speech by Ms. Leah Nabugerva, youth activist, Uganda Address by Mr. Dino Varkey, CEO GEMS Education

Award Winning Biologist and Educator
Scotland, UK

Award winning teacher and creator of Wild Planet Explorers, Joanna will speak about why and how to use multi-sensory activities to enhance the pupil's learning especially when it comes to learning about the SDGs.

As a biologist and conservationist, Joanna's mission is to inspire pupils to become naturalists, biologists, zoologists, conservationists, wildlife photographers, and educators.

Speaks About

• Supporting learners’ recovery with  Joanna’s ‘Wild Planet Explorers’ series and improving pupil engagement through movement and exploration.
• How a Blended Learning/Flexi-physical Schooling approach is going to ensure we deliver the scientists and biologists for the Green Economy.

ECO Club
The Westminster School, UAE
 eduCCate Global Eco-Leaders Secondary

Celia Maneia, Aaminah Patel and Aliza Muzaffer came from different subject backgrounds in Year 10 that exposed us to the grave environmental issues around the globe. Later they found that they shared a common interest in regards to taking an action against climate change as a whole. Hence, in Year 11 they formed a team under the guidance of Ms.Vijiaya Kumari Sathyan and Ms.Nilambari Gokhale, who appointed them as the Green Ambassadors of the Westminster School, Dubai.

For their initiative, they agreed that schools are the most optimal places to tackle environmental issues, and promote a sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle. Their vision is to tackle three main agendas which are to promote a sustainable fashion system, reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic and paper. They  believed that the textile industry is one of the top contributors to global warming and land waste, along with plastics taking the lead on all three fronts of air, water and land pollution. While conserving paper is key, as trees are a necessity to maintaining a balanced and healthy ecosystem. We also intend to take our vision nationwide to other schools.

Overall, they aim to pursue a more sustainable and self-sufficient path throughout all school procedures and processes by reducing textile waste through the implementation of cloth bags instead of plastic bags, and ensuring plastic free grounds to the extent of the school’s capabilities. As well as, reducing more than 80% of paper used by schools, and guarantee the firm establishment of basic practices for saving paper in our routine lives. They expect staff, students and parents to understand the financial and environmental benefits that arise from the application of their sustainable vision, and to be more active in promoting eco-friendly practices.

Speaks About

• Promoting and building eco-consciousness about paper, plastics and textile throughout all stakeholders.
• Pursuing a more sustainable and self-sufficient path throughout all school procedures and processes.
• Ensuring staff and students, within school and outside, be educated on climate change causes and impacts.

Head of School at the
Westminster School, Dubai

With her primary passion as teaching and starting her career as an educator, Ms Sathyan has been associated with GEMS for the past 27 years and she continues to teach IGCSE Chemistry at TWS. Her educational qualifications include a degree of Master of Science in Chemistry, a Bachelor of Education (Physical Science) degree from universities in India. She also holds a degree of Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Management from the Manchester Metropolitan University (UK).

Besides pursuing her PhD in Educational Leadership and Management, Vijaya Kumari is also a Coaching Clinic Licensed Facilitator, Corporate Coach. Her passion is to make her school sustainable and to ensure all her students are not only a part of the solution but will also lead in the making of their own sustainable future. To achieve this she uses the platform of eduCCate Global, UK, which is a not-for-profit organisation.

Speaks About

• How her school worked throughout the  COVID-19 lockdown to produce five Sustainability and Climate Change Leadership Teams
• From Fear to Sustainable Safety: The current trialling of two Blended Learning Online programmes to increase global awareness and protect children’s futures from disease and disaster.

Principal; M.S. in Educational Leadership

Principal at GEMS The Kindergarten Starters, Dubai, and the Executive Leader of Climate Change at GEMS Education, Asha Alexander received her Master of Science in Educational Leadership from The Walden University, Minnesota, in 2011. She holds Masters' degrees in Education as well as English from the Bangalore University, India. With 33 years of experience in the provision of education to K-12 students, she has overseen the school's transition to an exclusively digital curriculum.

Passionate, driven to achieve aspirational goals and ready to take on any challenge, she believes in nurturing students' hearts and minds and is particular about a value-based education. Forward thinking, she is a believer in all things digital. She is excited by the prospect of watching every child achieve his or her potential. Ms Alexander is an eduCCate Global Sustainability and Climate Change Leader and has made presentations at COP 25 as well as numerous other international webinars and conferences. She has conducted workshops on leadership and change management for several schools in India and in the UAE.

Speaks About

• Why climate change education is more important than ever for vulnerable people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• How we became the first school to train every member of staff to be an EduCCate Global climate change teacher and the media attention that brought climate change education into the mainstream.

Business Manager for a Multi-Academy Trust and passionate about saving her schools lots of money by being more environmentally aware/savvy.  Margaret talks about the most basic measures that every school can adopt to save thousands of Pounds each year!  Her dedication to delivering sustainability in all the schools in her MAT is not only interesting but exciting to take on board.  She shares how she did it, what she wants to achieve and why, the ease with which every school can deliver similar strategies and the powerful results of sustainable practices.  Money talks and when schools can save tons of money by simply switching off lights, we all need to listen.  Lots of tips and great ideas that really do work in this talk.  Margaret is a trailblazer and we see her delivering Sustainability & Cost Saving Training to ALL School Business Managers in the very near future!

Speaks About

• Building Trust and developing relationships
• Understanding and guiding the Trust to reduce its carbon footprint
• Inspiring and supporting practical action in all our schools
• Seeking out and building environmental relationships and partnerships outside of their
  Trust to create new opportunities for all their students