Graded’s 2024–25 Sustainability Highlights

Graded continues to strengthen its role as a leader in school sustainability, integrating environmental responsibility and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into both operations and curricula. With the support of our sustainability partner, Reconectta, our community has taken meaningful steps to reduce waste, rethink material consumption, and deepen environmental learning.

Material Consumption

Faculty, staff, and student surveys identified material consumption as a top sustainability priority for the 2024–25 school year, aligning with SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

In November 2024, four additional Humi composting boxes were installed, bringing the total to 12. Together, these bins diverted 9,548 kilograms of organic waste from landfills and produced 1,357 kilograms of fertilizer, preventing nearly 7.6 tons of CO₂ emissions. Lower and middle school students and teachers also managed six vermicompost bins, transforming snack and fruit waste into nutrient-rich soil. Compost from both systems is used across campus and shared with the community.

Recyclables continue to be sent to the Recicle Aqui cooperative. Graded also added new specialty recycling bins in the Parking Garage for items such as plastic caps (Tampinha Legal) and batteries, and organized an electronic waste recycling campaign. During 2024–25, the community recycled 64.5 kilograms of plastic caps, 161.3 kilograms of batteries, and 194.8 kilograms of electronic waste.

Teaching and Learning for a Greener World

This year, educators participated in more than 50 hours of training and consulting with our sustainability partner. Faculty also learned from one another during a Sustainability at Graded workshop, part of the “Teachers Teaching Teachers” professional learning series.

Across PK–12, sustainability continued to serve as a lens for inquiry and problem-solving. Early Years Program students planted, cared for, and harvested food in new garden spaces. In grade 4, students joined campus sustainability tours to see Graded’s initiatives in action before designing models of sustainable schools with recycled materials. Fifth-graders studied biodigesters and applied design thinking to recommend the best location for a future installation.

Middle schoolers created automated panels in Design & Technology to raise awareness about resource use, while their science classes investigated local environmental issues, including gold mining pollution, plastics in the oceans, and animal trafficking in the Mata Atlântica. The Graded Sprouts Project, developed with the School of Public Health at Universidade de São Paulo, introduced non-conventional edible plants (PANCs) to campus gardens and prompted students to consider the environmental impact of their food choices. In the high school, IB Environmental Systems and Societies students continued to explore global environmental challenges and solutions.

People Powering Change

Community engagement continued to grow this year. The Sustainability Committee met monthly, bringing together a diverse group of students, faculty, and staff to discuss challenges, propose solutions, and take action. Sustainability tours also allowed community members to explore solar energy, rainwater collection, energy use, and composting systems across campus.

The committee organized four Food Waste Reduction Challenges for students, faculty, and staff. In March 2024 (2023-24 school year), before the challenges were introduced, food waste from community plates averaged 13.3%. Across the four challenges during the 2024–25 school year, that figure dropped to an average of 8.58%.

At the end of the school year, the new cleaning team received training on Graded’s waste management practices and joined a guided sustainability tour.

Earth Week also returned as a full-community event, featuring workshops, a carpool challenge, art projects with recycled materials, and student-led exhibitions. A sustainability newsletter kept faculty, staff, and upper school students informed and engaged throughout the year. 

Sustainability and Events

By embedding sustainability into event planning, we turn each gathering into a model for the wider community.

Graded offset 16,000 kilograms of CO₂ from its three largest events—Thanksgiving, Celebration of the World, and Arraial Eagles—the equivalent of planting 96 trees. At every event, the school works to minimize waste, offset emissions, and partner with environmentally responsible suppliers. To guide this process, organizers are encouraged to use the newly created Event Sustainability Quiz to reflect on their events and receive a sustainability rating.

The PTA’s Thanksgiving 2024 embraced this commitment with a sustainability theme, featuring a Food Waste Reduction Challenge between students and adults (students won!), a Sustainable Bazaar, a Changemakers’ Hallway, and composting demonstrations.

Looking Ahead

Survey results show progress: both staff and students report stronger knowledge, more sustainable habits, and a growing perception of Graded as a sustainable school over the past three years. 

For the coming year, faculty and staff identified energy consumption as the top priority, while students identified food waste. The lower school has a strong Green Club, but more student leadership is needed in the upper school to expand opportunities for voice and action across divisions.

At Graded, sustainability is a daily practice—one that unites our community and prepares students to become conscious citizens committed to building a better world.