Alexander Zhang, member of Drop in the Ocean (DITO) at CIS here in Hong Kong, spoke at the Asia-Pacific Climate Week conference last week. ITS was very happy to mentor him developing his presentation and host his session. Alex has developed an excellent approach to how we think about action on climate for the future – PACE.
P stands for pinpoint. We first need to pinpoint areas to target our involvement. DITO has pinpointed multiple sectors at school by partnering with Metanoia, a sustainability consultancy group and conducting a sustainability audit through the metric of carbon footprint.
A is for acting upon pinpointed sectors. E.g. CIS banned all plastic drink packaging from cafeterias, installed solar panels, and set up a community farm to promote urban farming.
C stands for communication which is crucial as it allows for greater awareness of sustainability. As such, DITO is now directing a community dialogue video series featuring different stakeholders.
E stands for empowerment by empowering other students to become changemakers. DITO held community workshops called vision 33 to produce a mini-vision of what CIS would look like in 2033 in order to inspire action and work towards that vision of a sustainable school.
Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.