UWC Costa Rica

Sustainability for UWC Costa Rica is understood as a mindset and ethical guideline for balance and well-being; embracing the concept of reciprocity means understanding ourselves as part of an interconnected and diverse community of life, where each of our actions has an effect on something else. It is the way we care for ourselves, each other, and our spaces and environment.

Our New Sustainability Framework & Campus

To help lead our way forward and towards a new campus, a Sustainability Framework with guidelines for activating a culture of sustainability in UWC Costa Rica was created. The Framework comprises guiding “sustainability principles” and “action lines,” which encompass critical elements and actions needed to transition towards a school exemplary in its sustainability and inherent values and which cut across all areas of the school.

Our Sustainability Principles

• How we care for ourselves, each other, our spaces, and our environment.
• Nature first! We don’t exist outside of it or without it. Understanding ourselves as part of a community of life.
• How we develop transformative ways of thinking for the future. How we construct and share knowledge.
• How we create safe spaces for listening and working with diverse communities.
• How we create social structures based on active listening, inclusivity, and empowerment.
• How we weave relationships of mutual benefit with each other and the environment, and how they are sustained in time.
• Focusing on positive actions towards each other, for our surroundings, and the environment. How we preserve, care for, and regenerate ecosystems: responsibility, reduction, and action.
• Think about the impact of our “stuff” and how we consume and waste. Let’s be more and use less!

Sustainability Framework’s Action Lines

Sustainability Coordinators