Whom would you choose between a neighbour who throws away all his rubbish in the same bin and one that recycles paper, foil and glass? Between a cousin who buys strawberries in December and one that buys seasonal products from a local producer? Between a colleague who leaves the lights on when he leaves the room and one that buys energy-saving light bulbs?
At ESL, the choice is clear. From now on and in the long run, the Swiss organisation, which is a leader in the study abroad industry as well as a key actor in the fight for sustainable development, will encourage its customers to favour partner schools committed to sustainable development.
To support and promote its partners with social and environmental priorities, ESL has developed a self-assessment tool aimed at its partner schools. It wasn’t an easy undertaking, considering the company has established partnerships with over 350 schools throughout the world…
But ESL took up the challenge and, in collaboration with a consulting committee (ECO2 Initiative), its management developed a self-assessment tool specially designed for language schools. With the help of a questionnaire based on the ISO 26000 norm, which also serves as an action plan, the schools can now evaluate the degree of maturity of their environmental initiative implementation process.
For customers – this is new! On all ESL websites, the presentation page of each school will include a box showing the results of the self-assessment carried out by the school in question. The school’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policy will thus be presented in a clear, comprehensible way. Does the school have a waste management policy accessible to all, an-energy saving strategy or access for disabled people? Does it integrate specific environmental content in its academic programme? Does it organise events to involve its students in projects designed to help the local community?
You will find out more about this initiative by discovering this fascinating tool put in place by ESL on all of its websites. So whom will you choose?
What do you think?