One of the most consistent truths I have encountered is that young people are ready for this work. The question is whether schools are willing to get out of their way. Through platforms like the City of London Youth Natural Environment Board and the Green Futures competition, I have seen students design sustainability campaigns, challenge institutional practices, and bring fresh insight to local environmental action. Their ideas are often more grounded, creative, and ethically driven than we allow for. When schools invite youth leadership into strategic conversations, sustainability gains purpose and legitimacy.

What binds these lessons together is a simple but powerful insight: sustainability education is not just about doing things differently. It is about becoming something new. When schools commit to this kind of transformation, they do not just reduce their footprint or update a policy. They begin to cultivate a culture of relational awareness, ethical responsibility, and imaginative possibility. They help young people grow into citizens who can respond to complexity with compassion and courage.

In a time of ecological and social uncertainty, our schools have a profound opportunity. Not just to prepare students for the future, but to help them shape it. That means looking beyond green flags and into the culture of the classroom, the staffroom, and the strategic plan. It means embracing sustainability not as a checklist, but as an invitation to rethink how we live, learn, and lead together.