Tata Steel’s ‘The Green School Project’ made its presence at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) for the second year in a row

The Green School Project, an initiative by Tata Steel in association with TERI to spread awareness about environment issues in school campuses, made its presence at the United Nations Climate Change Conference for the second year in a row.

The 25th meeting of Conference of Parties (COP25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is ongoing in Madrid, Spain.

A session on ‘Green Education: joining hands to address Climate Change’ was hosted by Tata Steel in association with TERI on 3rd December at the India Pavilion at COP25, Madrid. The keynote address was delivered by Mr C K Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India.

This was followed by a talk by Mr Saurabh Bharadwaj, Fellow & Area Convener, Earth Science and Climate Change, TERI. He apprised the audience on India’s climate change vulnerability and shared his analysis on climate risk modelling. He emphasized on leveraging the power of youth in India to take impactful action in the sphere of environmental protection.

A plenary session on ‘Sustainability Insights: Corporate Learnings’ was also held where Ms Aparajita Agarwal, Sr. Manager, Regulatory Affairs, Tata Steel, also participated. Ms Agarwal spoke about the sustainable practices adopted by Tata Steel to abate emissions. She highlighted that sustainability is integral to Tata Steel’s ethos and value systems. Ms Agarwal also spoke about Tata Steel’s SDG initiatives, and the Company’s efforts to test new groundbreaking technologies to reduce emissions.

The platform showcased ‘The Green School’ project, a joint initiative of Tata Steel and TERI which promotes environmental stewardship to enhance critical and interdisciplinary thinking through formal and informal modes of teaching. This project is being implemented in 34 schools across operational areas of Tata Steel in Jharkhand and Odisha.

““The role of responsible corporate citizens in spearheading the transition to a sustainable economy is very vital. Addressing climate change is everyone’s responsibility and we all need to join hands to make our earth greener and better. Our Green School Project is a unique initiative in that direction,” said Mr. Pankaj Satija, Chief, Regulatory Affairs, Tata Steel.

Ms Neha, Fellow TERI, spoke on ‘Beyond Textbooks, Creating Awareness about Climate Change’ wherein she focused on the importance of using informal methods of teaching to spread the message of a green future. She shared the project learnings, achievements and way forward on creating a template to replicate the project at the national and international level using green curriculum and distinct pedagogy. The attitudinal and behavioral changes brought about by the project were also presented.

A handbook developed as a part of the Green School project, enlisting the gaps in the school green curricula was shared with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to consider for implementation at the national level. A short movie on the ‘Green School’ project was also screened at the end of the event. The project was well received by government officials, academia and event participants – all of whom recognized the immediate necessity of focusing on green education and joining hands to address the climate change challenge.