The Senior School pupil environment committee has launched the new year with an eco-pledge campaign, urging pupils and staff to make small lifestyle changes for the good of the planet.
Members of the Highgate community have offered a range of personal commitments, including ‘eat less meat’, ‘buy more second-hand clothes’, ‘grow our own vegetables’, ‘drive less’, ‘avoid foods with palm oil’, ‘recycle more’ and ‘buy more organic brands’.
2024 was the first year that the world’s average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This was a symbolic milestone, as the 1.5°C figure has been a key target in international climate negotiations since the Paris Agreement in 2015. 1.5°C is considered a threshold above which some of the most damaging impacts come into play, an example of which can be seen in the wildfires currently burning in California.
Examples of pledges that students have already made can be seen in Central Hall, encouraging others to adopt a small change to their lifestyle in 2025.
Small changes can make a huge difference!