A more eco-friendly school environment carries plentiful benefits for both the local community and Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) students.
At the SMMUSD Board of Education meeting on Dec. 19, district Sustainability Manager Austin Toyama gave the board the 2023-24 sustainability update. Broken into sustainability focus areas like climate, education, water and transportation; the presentation showed advancements birthed from the Districtwide Plan for Sustainability, adopted in March 2019.
“Integrating sustainability into the district’s organizational curriculum and culture not only reduces the district’s environmental footprint, but also generates cost savings, supports student achievement and develops the next generation of environmental stewards,” Toyama said.
Districtwide advancements include 2023-24 water usage being down 32% compared to a baseline year of 2017-18. Not only does the decreased usage keep pace with 2025 Sustainability Plan goals, it also helps the district’s financial position, as water costs were $147,206 lower in 23-24 than the baseline year.
Toyama explained that less usage can be attributed to high-efficiency plumbing fixture installations, smart irrigation controllers, drought-tolerant landscape designs and more rainy seasons in 23-24.
Energy efficiency has also been a sustainability focus, specifically honing in on increases in solar energy. Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems generated 18% of SMMUSD electricity in 23-24, including the majority of electricity use at Webster, Roosevelt, Grant, Franklin and Malibu elementary schools.
Plans call for solar generation to reach 30% by 2025, aided by new rooftop solar at the Samohi Exploration Building and the new Malibu High School building, with the latter noted as SMMUSD’s first zero-net energy building.
The district has been recognized for its efforts, particularly in renewable energy sourcing. A recent switch to 100% renewable energy landed SMMUSD in the Clean Power Alliance Green Leader program.
“Given the significant environmental footprint of all our district facilities, sourcing 100% green power has drastically lowered our carbon footprint,” Toyama added.
Another effort made was to get students to and from school without the usage of cars, via the Metro GoPass Program. In its third year in 23-24, over 2,600 students registered for the program, with a 14% increase in total boardings from the prior year.
“Students are getting more used to it, more comfortable, and we’re seeing more usage of these cards,” Toyama said.
More campus-specific initiatives included composting at Will Rogers Learning Community for the school’s Regenerative Farm, resourcing food waste from student lunches into a final composted product. Other achievements were Malibu and Grant elementary schools incorporating food grown on campus into cafeteria menus, as well as upgraded garden beds at John Adams Middle School.
The 2019 sustainability plan, Toyama noted, set forth “many ambitious goals” that did not take into account the bevy of SMMUSD construction and modernization projects. However, he added, the plan has still been working.
“Despite the large volume of new construction and additions to our facilities, we’ve achieved many goals outlined in the plan and have taken big steps forward,” Toyama said. “We acknowledge there’s more work to be done, and we will continue our efforts to advance sustainable operations, practices and sustainability education throughout the district.”
