LWSD Sustainability and Resource Conservation Action Plan

Dear Lake Washington School District Community,
                                         
The history of the Pacific Northwest is one of great resource abundance, majestic physical beauty, and of people caring for the environment. Lake Washington School District is on the Indigenous Land of the Coast Salish Peoples, who have reserved treaty rights on this land, including the Duwamish (dxʷdəwʔabš) and the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe (sdukʷalbixʷ). We recognize and thank the caretakers of this land, who have lived here since time immemorial. Lake Washington School District commits to continued collaboration with Native communities.

We also recognize that current global conditions require every community to do our utmost to address local and global ecological threats. In that spirit, Lake Washington School District has developed this Environmental Sustainability and Resource Conservation Action Plan. This Plan builds on the District’s longstanding efforts to conserve resources, and on the strong support and commitment of the students, staff, and communities the District serves.

This Plan is rooted in Board Policy Operational Expectation-9 (OE-9), which outlines the District’s ethical and moral responsibility to reduce environmental impacts and ensure sustainability. OE-9 acknowledges climate change as both a current and future threat to District operations and educational equity. In response, this Sustainability Plan addresses OE-9 core directives:                     

1. Reduce and mitigate the environmental impact of operations.
2. Enhance the resiliency of the District toward future environmental impacts.
3. Prepare students for a sustainable future where they are equipped to understand and address the complex and challenging interrelationships between humans and the environment.
4. Equip staff to appropriately support District efforts related to this policy.

This Plan also aligns to the District’s Strategic Framework, which elevates Integrated Sustainability as one of four core commitments guiding our future. It establishes a carbon emissions baseline to measure progress and shape priorities, sets a goal for attaining net-zero direct emissions by 2050, and outlines actions the District can take to reduce its environmental footprint, support student health and learning, strengthen resilience and address climate change.

We approach this work with urgency and hope, acknowledging the scale of the challenges we face. By concentrating on efforts with the greatest impact, the District will be able to make measurable progress and build momentum for broader transformation over time. The Plan will serve as the foundation for a roadmap that will identify specific priorities and implementation timelines.

Many thanks to the Sustainability Advisory Committee, along with the many students, staff, parents, and community members who contributed their time, insight, and commitment to creating this plan. Your work exemplifies the collaboration and care that make progress possible. Let’s make Lake Washington a model for what a sustainable public education system can achieve. I invite you to explore the Sustainability Plan, learn more about the strategies it outlines, and consider the ways we can each contribute to this collective effort. In doing so, we can build on our shared progress and ensure that sustainability remains a living part of Lake Washington School District’s mission and daily practice.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jon Holmen
Superintendent, Lake Washington School District
 

This Plan is organized into five sections, with four recommendation sections aligned to the structure of the Board’s OE-9 Sustainability and Resource Conservation Directive. Each recommendation section includes:

• A summary of current district practices
• The current policy and regulatory landscape
• Input from community stakeholders
• Actionable recommendations, accompanied by relative impact   and cost   assessments
• An equity analysis
• Budget considerations

For each recommendation, a rating of one to four check marks and one to four dollar signs  indicates the relative impact and cost, respectively, of the recommendation. For example: Complete LED lighting replacement (see box on the right) is high impact and highly cost-effective.

The sections of this plan are as follows:

Section 1: Reducing and Mitigating Environmental Impact of LWSD Operations

- Includes a baseline greenhouse gas emissions inventory (conducted in 2025) and recommendations across key operational domains including facilities, capital planning, waste management, food service, transportation, and purchasing.

Section 2: Enhancing Resiliency

- Addresses local climate threats and provides recommendations for improving the resilience of District facilities and operations.

Section 3: Preparing Students for a Sustainable Future

- Offers recommendations for expanding opportunities to ensure graduates are prepared, resilient, flexible, and skilled in the habits of sustainability.

Section 4: Equipping Staff to Support Sustainability Efforts

- Provides recommendations for supporting staff as they develop and deepen their sustainability practices and adapt processes to achieve operational sustainability, educational, and resilience goals.

Section 5: Next Steps - From Planning to Action

- Outlines next steps for implementation, anchored by the Sustainability Roadmap, a companion document that establishes priorities, timelines, and accountability.
 

Lake Washington School District operates within a local, regional, and global context of established climate goals. These include long-term commitments to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The table below summarizes these goals:

Scientific consensus from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) originally indicated that reaching global net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by around 2050 would be necessary to hold warming to 1.5°C. Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement,¹ nations have pledged to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through regularly updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Global temperatures are increasing at an accelerating rate, with 2024 confirmed as the warmest year on record, the highest since measurements began in the 19th century. This record warmth underscores both the urgency and the shared responsibility to act. For Lake Washington School District, it reinforces the importance of reducing emissions, strengthening resilience, and educating students to be capable stewards in a rapidly changing climate.

1    While the United States recently withdrew from the Paris Agreement (for the second time), the goals of the Paris Agreement provide useful context.