School Gears Up For Green Certificate

PHUKET TOWN: Stree Phuket School is one of 13 schools in Thailand selected by the Department of Education to apply for international certification that they meet ‘best practices’ for environmental management. To get ISO 14001 certification from the International Standards Organization, the school will have to show that it has an efficient system for managing everything from separation of waste, to handling waste water from science laboratories, kitchen and bathrooms, to dealing with chalk dust from blackboard dusters. School vehicles, fridges, airconditioners and other machinery will also have to be monitored to ensure they are not wasting resources or polluting. Paper must be used on both sides before being put into a bin for recycling. Students and staff will have to ensure that all electrical equipment is turned off when not in use, and that when it is in use that the minimum possible power is used. The school will be visited by inspectors from the Geneva-based ISO on August 5 to see whether it complies with ISO requirements. The aim of the project is to raise environmental awareness among the school’s 3,200 students. Eventually, the Department of Education plans to extend ISO certification throughout Thailand’s 2,000 state schools, creating generations of students who will carry their environmental knowledge into society as a whole.