Climate action plan
A named sustainability lead and a climate action plan covering curriculum, procurement, adaptation and decarbonisation. The government's education strategy encourages every school to have both, but there is no legal duty to publish them.
Check this on my websiteWho it applies to
- Published on
- The school's own website
- School type
- Academies and maintained schools
- School stage
- All stages, from early years to sixth form
- Does not apply to
- No school types are excluded
When is it due?
- Renewal
- No fixed date
The official sources set no renewal date. Keep it accurate whenever it changes.
What's needed
Consider publishing the sustainability lead's name and the school's climate action plan on the about-us or sustainability page.
What it must contain
5 parts- Names the school's sustainability leadShould
- Gives the school's climate action plan for its sustainability initiativesShould
- Covers the four key pillars of the climate action planShould
- Covers curricular and extra-curricular activity, procurement, adaptation and decarbonisation plansShould
- Tracks progress against sustainability goals, reporting impact and lessons learnedGood practice
What the official sources say
Set out in 2 official sources:
Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education
The sustainability and climate change strategy for education states: “By 2025, all education settings will have nominated a sustainability lead and put in place a climate action plan”.
Expected§ Overview (first paragraph)
While the format may vary, all climate action plans should include the following 4 key pillars:
Should§ Developing and storing your climate action plans
Show 5 more from this source
A climate action plan is a detailed plan to enable your education setting, or trust, to progress or commence sustainability initiatives.
Expected§ Developing and storing your climate action plans
Nurseries, schools and colleges are expected to nominate a sustainability lead.
Expected§ Identifying your sustainability leadership structure
However, we know many settings are proud of the action they are taking and publish their climate action plan or strategy on their website. Having your climate action plan visible is helpful in engaging parents, the local community and external stakeholders on the journey towards sustainability and enhances trust and accountability.
Good practice§ Developing and storing your climate action plans
track progress against sustainability goals, reporting impact and lessons learned
Good practice§ Identifying your sustainability leadership structure > Sustainability leads often
You may choose to have a climate action plan that sits within an individual setting, across a trust, or both.
Expected§ Developing and storing your climate action plans
Sustainability and climate change: a strategy for the education and children's services systems
While our end goal is for all settings to have a sustainability lead owning a climate action plan (to include curricular and extra-curricular activity, procurement, adaptation and decarbonisation plans), we are keen to:
Good practice§ Initiatives to drive the strategy > Sustainability leadership
Questions schools ask
Does every school have to publish the climate action plan?
The official sources we check set no requirement for academies. The official sources we check set no requirement for maintained schools.
When does the climate action plan need to be published?
Renewal: No fixed date. The official sources set no renewal date. Keep it accurate whenever it changes.
What must the climate action plan include?
Names the school's sustainability lead; Gives the school's climate action plan for its sustainability initiatives; Covers the four key pillars of the climate action plan; Covers curricular and extra-curricular activity, procurement, adaptation and decarbonisation plans; Tracks progress against sustainability goals, reporting impact and lessons learned.
Where does the requirement for the climate action plan come from?
It is set out in Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education and Sustainability and climate change: a strategy for the education and children's services systems.
Changes to the official sources
Dated change notes published by the Department for Education on the sources above.
30 October 2025 · Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education
Updated to provide greater clarity on the climate action plan template and sustainability leadership structure, and to add an additional case-study from Manchester Metropolitan University.
7 March 2025 · Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education
Updated to include information about developing and storing your climate action plan and the Let’s Go Zero national campaign.
20 September 2024 · Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education
Updated with further information on the support available to nurseries, schools and colleges.
20 May 2024 · Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education
Updated with support resources now available to nurseries, schools and colleges.
20 December 2023 · Sustainability and climate change: a strategy for the education and children's services systems
Added 'Sustainability and climate change strategy: our progress so far (December 2023)'.
15 September 2023 · Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education
Added 'United Learning Trust’s sustainability journey' to the 'Multi-academy trusts' section.
2 earlier changes are listed on the source pages.
We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.
Is this on your school's website?
We check your site the way an inspector or a parent would find it: page by page, against the official wording of each requirement. If it's there, you get the page and the words we found. If it isn't, you get every place we looked.
Check this one requirement free, or scan your whole site against every requirement.
Official wording that does not apply to schools (1)
The Department for Education does not provide a set template for climate action plans. This allows schools, colleges and other education settings the flexibility to develop a tailored plan that reflects their specific context, priorities and needs.
Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4