QGBC Awards Eco-School Certification to four new schools in Qatar

A quartet of education establishments in Qatar are celebrating after receiving a prestigious eco honor. Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) has bestowed the coveted Green Flag on Gheras International School, Doha English Speaking School, and the first two Qatar Foundation schools, Qatar Academy Doha Primary and Qatar Leadership Academy.

A virtual event took place to celebrate and acknowledge the achievement by each of the learning institutions.

Since 2018, QGBC – a member of Qatar Foundation – has been the national operator for the well-regarded Eco-Schools program, the largest sustainable schools’ scheme in the world. The program starts in the classroom and expands to the community by engaging the next generation in action-based learning. It produces sustainability-minded and environmentally conscious generations.

The program, which involves a two-year commitment, encourages young people to actively protect the environment. Through the scheme, young people experience a sense of achievement at being able to have a say in the environmental management policies of their schools, ultimately steering them towards certification which comes with being awarded a Green Flag.

Ruba Hinnawi, the Technical Specialist from QGBC, said: “We were delighted to present the Green Flag honors to Gheras International School, Doha English Speaking School, Qatar Academy Doha Primary, and Qatar Leadership Academy.

“The dedication shown by all four establishments over the past two years to ecological concerns is to be applauded and they are all very worthy recipients of the Green Flag. We hope this will encourage more schools to participate in the program, which is a win-win for the school and the Qatar environment.”

There are three distinct structural elements to the program – the Seven Steps Framework; the Eco-Schools Themes; and Assessment for the Green Flag. To date, more than 17,000 Green Flags have been awarded to Eco-Schools across the world, with a further 50,000 schools registered for the scheme and in excess of 19.5m students involved.

For more information about the program, visit https://qatargbc.org/programs/ecoschools.