Family Handbook 2023-24

OUR COMMITMENT

Sustainability

Sustainability & Environmental Initiatives As a leader in education, Havergal College teaches students to be respectful of their environment and knowledgeable about sustainable practices and the value of being responsible community members. We demonstrate those values outside of the classroom with our commitment to the LEED® green building rating system—the pre-eminent program for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of high-performance green buildings—which will ensure that our enhancements create environmentally sustainable buildings for today and long into the future. Operational Optimization The Facilities team is currently working on upgrading our Building Automation System (BAS), which will allow for optimization of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. This will allow us to reduce our annual utility consumption and significantly decrease the emission of carbon dioxide into the air. Ultimately embracing an energy-efficient HVAC system slows down the use of finite fossil fuels. Car Charging Stations Havergal College has three car charging stations at both the Upper School and Junior School. Although the initiative was a municipal standard during our new construction build that wrapped up in 2020, Havergal College truly supports the use of electric vehicles, which is why there is no cost to employees to charge their vehicles at work. EV charging at Havergal College has helped eliminate 1,134 kg of greenhouse gas emissions—that is equivalent to planting 29 trees and letting them grow for 10 years. Living Wall For the best quality of life, the air we breathe must be clean and enriched with oxygen. Oxygen nourishes the lungs, the blood and, consequently, the rest of our organs. Fresh air is not always possible when students and staff are indoors, so with this in mind Havergal College included a living wall in the Student Commons of the newest addition to the Upper School. This addition will help improve air quality because of the natural process in which plants remove carbon dioxide, absorb and clean other pollutants, and then as a byproduct produces oxygen-rich air for students and staff.

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