Sustainability

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As the result of an assessment by Seattle-based Bluegreen Consulting, Blair Academy formed an internal sustainability committee to explore ways to raise awareness of such issues facing the School and how to best implement conservation approaches at Blair–and beyond.

The committee–comprised of Blair students, faculty and staff–developed the following mission statement.


Blair Academy Sustainability Mission Statement

"It is the intention of Blair Academy to promote environmental awareness, global thinking and local action. Since we live on a planet with finite resources, we must embrace the responsibility of acting as stewards of our environment. With philosophical and financial support from the Headmaster and Board of Trustees, the three central goals of our plan are to educate and raise consciousness inside our school community; to craft solutions to on-going environmental concerns to reduce Blair’s ecological footprint; and to promote long-term commitment to sustainable living."

To accomplish this mission, the following initiatives are underway.

Education & Awareness

As an educational institution, we feel compelled to bring greater attention to the moral and practical benefits of a society acting sustainably.

Through events such as School Meetings, Vespers, Chapels and Society of Skeptics, we aim to help both student and adult members of the Blair community distinguish needs versus wants and promote behaviors that serve the long-term needs of our environment.

Sustainable Living

We are working to substantially reduce our consumption of electrical energy, improve the efficiency of heating our buildings, reduce water consumption, eat more locally grown and nutritious foods, improve the efficiency of our fleet of vehicles, reduce the purchase and use of non-renewable materials on campus, and increase participation in recycling.

We will make every effort to instill an appreciation of the beautiful and interdependent world in which we live. The shared obligation to protect it requires our utmost daily attention. Ultimately, we look to graduate responsible citizens of the planet.

An “earth-friendly” attitude–one that embraces the concept of sustainability–has long-prevailed in some corners of campus, considering that the School’s weekly recycling program, as well as its student environmental club, Earthshine, which have been around since the 1980s and 1990, respectively.