Research for climate-smart schools

The Sustainable Education Research Initiative (SustainableED) is a national hub for research at the intersection of education policy and climate change. Schools are both vulnerable to environmental degradation and uniquely positioned to be part of the solution. We advance rigorous, policy-relevant research to help education systems become more resilient to our changing climate, reduce their ecological footprint, and contribute to a more sustainable future. Through interdisciplinary research, cross-sector collaboration, and actionable insights, SustainableED supports evidence-based efforts to create climate-smart schools and a healthier planet.

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Research

Education and Climate Change: Synthesizing the Evidence to Guide Future Research

The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly visible across all aspects of the U.S. PreK-12 education system. Schools are both vulnerable to climate change and uniquely positioned to be part of the solution. We synthesize a broad body of interdisciplinary research and data to illustrate the bi-directional relationship between schools and our changing climate.

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People

In the News

School Disruptions from the LA Fires Hit Latino, Disadvantaged and English-Language Learners Hardest, Experts Find. Liza Gross, Inside Climate News, March 14, 2025.
- “Extreme weather events, made more frequent and intense by climate change, pose a clear and present danger to our education system.” — Matthew Kraft, Associate Professor of Education and Economics, Brown University
HVAC improvements shown to improve student outcomes. Robert Freedman, K-12 Dive, March 14, 2025.
- “We conclude that investments made now to improve school HVAC systems can benefit not only student comfort and well-being, but also enhance educational opportunity,” say the researchers, Lucy Sorensen, Moontae Hwang and Marzuka Ahmad Radia of the State University of New York at Albany.
Wildfires in Los Angeles disrupted school for thousands of vulnerable students. EHN Curators, Environmental Health News, March 19, 2025.
- “The basic facts are undeniable. Extreme weather events, made more frequent and intense by climate change, pose a clear and present danger to our education system.” — Matthew Kraft, Associate Professor of Education and Economics, Brown University
After LA fires, Latino and low-income students are hard hit by school disruptions. Liza Gross, Chalkbeat, March 27, 2025.

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