Who We Are

Xstrata Coal South Africa in partnership with the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Eco-Schools Programme are promoting the importance of environmental awareness and education in the mainstream educational curriculum and communities. The project highlights Xstrata's commitment to the sustainability of the environment beginning with educating our children for the future. Eco- Schools is an internationally recognised programme of the Foundation of Environmental Education (FEE) that accredits schools that make a commitment to continuously improve their school's environmental performance.

Now in its 8th year the Eco-Schools Programme has become a valuable curriculum framework for schools to work toward sustainable development goals. Since it was launched in South Africa in 2003, the number of schools that have registered have increased from 100 in the first year to over 1200 schools in 2010. Of these schools more than half have been working with the programme for two or more years which is ultimately one of the core aims; ensuring that efforts for better environmental learning and action are sustained and become part of how schools are managed.

Solar cookers, vegetable gardens, wetland restoration, healthy tuckshops and water tanks are just some of the concepts embraced by schools that are participating in the Eco-Schools Programme.

For the past 3 years Xstrata Coal South Africa has spearheaded and supported the roll-out of the ES programme in Mpumalanga at both provincial and node level. More specifically Xstrata Coal has funded the regional coordination of Eco-Schools in MP as well as 3 nodes (clusters of 5 -10 schools).Testament to the support provided for Xstrata is the incredible expansion of the programme the province has experience from just 37 schools participating in 2007 to 124 at the end of 2010. Of these, 16 received their Green Flags
in 2010, and 6 schools received their Gold Awards for four years of sustained environmental action and learning.