Supplemental Materials for the Decarbonization Roadmap Guide

In addition to the full report, we’ve created supplemental materials to help school decision makers get started.

• Overview Handout
  This 2-page handout highlights key aspects of the Decarbonization Guide and is a useful piece for introducing the guide to potential stakeholders, including school board members, facility managers, and teachers. Download the handout (PDF)
• Customizable Templates
  We’ve developed customizable templates for school districts to use on their path to decarbonize. These include templates for creating new district policies, examples for reporting annual carbon reductions, and checklists to follow during design and construction. Access the templates.
• Decarbonization Strategy Spotlights for Buses, Kitchens, and Resiliency
  Since this guide was first published in 2022, many school districts have started considering options related to electric school buses, resiliency, and all-electric kitchens. These three strategy spotlight documents offer a deeper dive into how to integrate these key concepts into school district planning and activities. These strategy spotlights can be used as standalone resources or can be inserted directly into the guide.
  • All-Electric Kitchens Decarbonization Spotlight (PDF)
    Kitchens are a critical component of schools, especially for schools and districts with a high percentage of students receiving meals through the National School Lunch Program. This resource provides information about transitioning to an all-electric kitchen and how to incorporate them into a school planning or district decarbonization roadmap.
  • Resiliency Decarbonization Spotlight (PDF)
    Schools that are designed and operated with resiliency in mind not only safeguard the health of students, but also serve the broader community in times of need. This resource presents the core components of resilient buildings and provides a roadmap to improve resiliency in schools, both in new construction projects and retrofitting existing buildings.
  • Electric School Buses Decarbonization Spotlight (PDF)
    Today, 32% of school districts are in states that have adopted the Advanced Clean Transport (ACT) rule, set a zero-emissions school bus target, or have a zero-emissions school bus mandate in place. With nearly a third of school buses required to be electric in the near future, the transition to electric school buses is picking up momentum . This resource spotlights electrifying school bus fleets and incorporating electric vehicle charging infrastructure in schools and districts.

Additional Resources

Key Messages for Communicating About Carbon Neutral Schools

Effective communication is critical to successfully engaging school decision makers and ultimately achieving an ambitious goal of designing, constructing, and operating healthy, efficient, carbon neutral schools. This document will address key questions around how to effectively communicate these goals and how to engage various stakeholders in the process.
Access the Key Messaging Document

Interactive Map of Carbon Neutral School Districts

This interactive map includes districts that have addressed healthy, efficient, resilient schools by adopting formal goals to tackle carbon emissions. This database will continue to be updated. Would you like to have your carbon neutral resolution, policy, or plan added to this list? Email [email protected]

Access the Map


Documents to Inform the Stock Take

A stock take is a chance reflect on the current status of sustainability and energy performance in a district. It is a good first step when starting on roadmap development. A stock take uncovers relevant plans, goals, and policies as they currently exist in the district. This document includes a list of common documents where this information might be located.
Download the Document

Decarbonization Roadmapping Planner

The Roadmapping Planner provides a place to organize a district’s decarbonization efforts. It has detailed work plans that can be customized to guide the roadmap development efforts. The spreadsheet reporting template makes it easy to summarize and share results with stakeholders.
Download the Planner