Brainstorming
A brainstorming session can also be a great way to identify opportunities for energy saving that you might not have thought of. It is also a way to engage staff in saving energy, reducing costs, and sharing the effort in making projects happen.
How to do it
Prior to the meeting, ask staff to take a look around the school to see if they can spot opportunities for saving energy. Tell them this could include:
- Things that aren’t switched off when they all leave work
- Things that could have a timer installed to automatically switch off
- Things that need a reminder for staff to switch off
- Areas of the school where you are running more appliances or lights than you need
- Whether your school is over-heated
- Areas where hot water is wasted
- Old, inefficient lighting or appliances
- Any other ideas for saving energy
At the meeting
At your staff meeting, ask people to share their ideas via post-it notes or flipcharts. Arrange matching ideas together into groups by project type. Read through all the ideas and ask the staff team what resources would be needed to make each project happen, and how barriers could be addressed. Ask them which ones they think could be implemented and decide as a group which projects you can commit to. Ask people to volunteer to progress individual projects, and ask someone to write up a list of the project ideas and who is managing them. Agree how you will start to communicate your energy saving projects to the school community.