Sustainability Code

The UnSchool of Disruptive Design, Disrupt Design and Circular Futures are established on three main principles of systems change, active sustainability and disruptive design for supporting positive and significant change for a future that works better for all of us.

Our mission is to make, demonstrate, share and activate leadership for creative and sustainable change.  

We embrace the opportunity to take ownership of the decisions we make to actively reduce our impact on social and environmental systems that surround us.

For us, to live and work sustainability is necessary to live and work ethically.

We are committed to activating and expanding global sustainability goals, and sharing knowledge and tools through hands-on application of sustainability in our lives and communities.

Our hope is that our case study is replicated, copied and borrowed from across the planet to scale up creative, systemic, and well-designed sustainability in action.

Code of Practice

In all our programs and initiatives, we embed sustainability principles and practices into every aspect of our operations in the following ways:

We work to minimize our environmental footprint through sustainable management of our resources, including land, water, energy, materials, cultural heritage and biodiversity.

We actively conduct activities to avoid, minimize or mitigate negative environmental, social and economic impacts,  and to maximize positive impacts.

We bulk buy to reduce packaging, always use reusable shopping bags and purchase the highest level of recycled content products as possible (such as for paper or office products).

When our staff and team have to travel, where appropriate and feasible we purchase carbon offsets and opt for lower carbon transport options where possible. We support the use of digital platforms (like video conferencing and digital production) instead of travel to reduce carbon emissions where possible.

We aim toward post-disposability in our operations by reducing consumption and increasing reuse. We go beyond recycling in our approach to waste management and, where possible, we compost all organic materials, reduce and reuse before recycling, and actively work toward zero waste.

We make sure that what we do use is actually recyclable in the system we are in and ensure that all recycling is done correctly.

We only offer vegetable-centric, locally-sourced meals to reduce carbon and land use impacts from meat production.

We aim to advance the circular economy by incorporating circular design approaches and skills for sustainability in our facility design,  programming and practices.

We support local communities through measures such as locally sourcing goods and services, and employing local people where possible.

We engage actively with staff, learners, contractors, suppliers, and community organizations to build their environmental sustainability capabilities to contribute positively to the environment.

We prioritize accessibility to our programs through equity access scholarships or through our volunteer opportunities based on value exchanges.

We are continually learning how to foster open and respectful dialogue between local communities and international visitors.

We respect and appreciate diversity of and differences in ethnicity, race, Indigenous origin or heritage, age, gender, beliefs, language, sexual orientation, education, nationality, social background or culture, and other personal characteristics.

We embrace our own learning and work to continuously improve our performance. As people who both lead and follow,  we commit to identifying opportunities to learn and grow personally and professionally in both roles. We realize mistakes are part of the process and how we create our best work, and we welcome and offer caring constructive critique and feedback so that we continue to learn and evolve.

We acknowledge our power and privilege and the responsibility that comes with it. We create an inclusive, participatory environment with reciprocal, open communication.

We prioritize working with other organisations that have advanced environmental policies and seek out best-practice products and services.

We focus on sourcing products and services from local providers, with an emphasis on organic and sustainably-motivated producers.

When we decide to produce products ourselves, we only work with producers who have high environmental standards and offer recycled content, alternative energy production systems and low-impact manufacturing.