The Sustainability Workbook

Illinois Green Schools Project

IGSP Sustainability Workbook

Complete each chapter at your own pace

with assistance from your IGSP Mentor

Turn in your completed workbook by January 31 to advance to the next stage.

A blue and green spiral bound workbook for the illinois green schools project.

Available to all IGSP Participants

The IGSP Sustainability Workbook prompts users to:
 

  1. Take stock of their school's current practices, infrastructure, and culture.

  2. Start productive conversations with other school stakeholders.

  3. Develop an action plan for a resource use reduction project that addresses their school's unique goals and needs.


1. Self-Assessment

Assemble a network of school stakeholders like teachers, facilities managers, administrators, and more to take stock of the school's current resources and infrastructure. Utilize this tool to spark conversations about the many possible pathways to impact reduction and identify areas for improvement.

This basic self-assessment provides green teams with a holistic framework for school sustainability, based off the US Department of Education's Green Ribbon Program.
Assess school sustainability across three Pillars:

Reduced Environmental Impact and Costs, Improved Health and Wellness, and Improved Environmental Literacy.

Sneak Peak of Self-Assessment

A table of environmental impacts with a magnifying glass

Tally up your score to identify possible focus areas

A table showing the number of people in each category

Gain full access to the complete self-assessment by signing up as an IGSP school!

2. Choose a Path

Once a green team has completed their Self Assessment, it's time to identify a topic for your sustainability project. All IGSP Sustainability Projects must address at least one of the Self Assessment's metrics from the Environmental Impact section and one metric from either the Health & Wellness or Environmental Literacy sections.


The environmental Impact section of the Self Assessment focuses on reducing impact in Energy, Water & Grounds, Waste Management, and Alternative Transportation. Execute one of our Energy, Water, or Waste Walk-Through Audit Guides to learn more about your school's infrastructure and operations.



The IGSP Building Walkthrough Guides help schools dive deeper into the areas of focus identified during the Self Assessment.


A spiral bound book titled energy walkthrough on a blue background

Faces of Humanity

Portraits of people from around the globe
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A spiral bound book with a page that says igsp on it

Nature's Symphony

Breathtaking colors of our planet
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A spiral bound book titled waste walkthrough on a blue background

Sands of Time

Stark beauty of desolate dunes
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A black and white icon of a light bulb with rays coming out of it.
A black drop of water on a white background.
A black and white recycling symbol on a white background.

Gain full access to all three guides by signing up as an IGSP school!

3. Project Outline

Once the green team has taken stock of their school’s infrastructure, operations, and culture, it’s time to outline their Green Schools Project. This outline template helps the user create a comprehensive blueprint of the essential components, procedures, goals, and milestones of their IGSP project. A well-defined outline clearly shows the structure of a project and sets green teams up for success.

Use the IGSP Project Outline to develop a plan for a holistic project:

  • Thesis and Mission Statement

    Identify the purpose and significance of your project, and select at least two metrics from the IGSP Self Assessment to address through your project work.

  • Project Timeline

    Share a high-level overview of the project’s expected schedule/timeline, including important milestones, who will be directly involved and in what capacities, and specific goals and intended outcomes. 

  • Funding Sources and Opportunities

    Participating schools are eligable to apply for the IGSP Mini Grant to help fund project goals up to $1000. The grant assessment rubric will be made available to all participants.


    Consider multiple sources of funding to maximinze your project's impacts. Your mentor can provide advice on the best ways to fundraise and form local partnerships.

Mix & match sustainability metrics from Chapter 1 to create project ideas!

The many metrics that make up our Sustainability Self Assessment act as a trove of project ideas that span from simple and low-barrier items to more complex and large-scale items.
Learn more about using metrics to develop project ideas.

IGSP Mini Grant

At the end of the outline, you will find an optional IGSP Mini Grant Request section. Participating schools can request funding up to $1,000 to cover project costs. Funding will be rewarded based on relevance to the program's mission and grant review rubric. The grant review rubric will be available to all IGSP participants. If your school does not plan to request funding through the Illinois Green Schools Project, you may leave this portion blank.

Don't sweat it!

Every school's sustainability journey is unique and comes with its own set of challenges and perameters. If you are unable to complete the IGSP sustainability workbook by the January 31st deadline, that is okay! You can take as long as you need to complete the first stage of the program; you can always submit your sustainability workbook the following year!

Have additional questions?

Check out our FAQ Page

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