A vision is what grounds an organization and allows it to gain momentum and collectively move in the same direction. A list of do’s and don’ts will not inspire change, whereas an inspiring vision for the future can engage a community of people and provide a sense of purpose.
 

 
A thoughtful vision statement should be created by members of an organization and reflect their educational mission, values, priorities, and culture. It should be easy for all stakeholders (including students) to understand and relate to the vision. By collaboratively developing the vision internally, stakeholders will be invested in it and engaged in seeing that it is accomplished.
 

 
Schools are naturally future-focused. At their core, schools prepare youth to be knowledgeable, active citizens. In order to prepare students to lead a sustainable future, we must first believe that a sustainable future is indeed possible. Successful schools inspire stakeholders by describing a positive end-state, instead of describing problems that should be fixed. This focus on a positive future also communicates a positive way of life: “this is our culture, this is the way we ‘do life’ in this place”.

 
To bring the vision to an actionable level, school stakeholders define clear goals. These goals are ambitious, requiring the full investment of stakeholders, but are still achievable. Further, they establish a sense of urgency by communicating that our actions today are critically important and have a lasting impact on the future of our school, community, and planet.
 

 
Sustainability requires a systems-based approach; therefore, a whole-school sustainability program cannot be implemented without reaching across disciplines and departments. Educators, administrators, building managers, students, and community members must be included in any sustainability initiative. Broad-based, positive change is only possible when people interact across departments, roles, and schools.
 

 
Successful schools and districts establish teams of individuals from across departments, providing a place for synergy, sharing, co-learning, capacity-building, and innovation. This team approach generates shared ownership, personal responsibility, and commitment. When teams increase connection and interaction across groups (known as an interconnected and distributed social network, they are resilient to change and less likely be derailed by inevitable changes in leadership. In addition, engaging with outside organizations builds internal staff capacity, expands technical expertise, and aligns the program to the needs of the local community.
 

 
Instead of making sustainability an add-on, award-winning schools have made sustainability a core aspect of all tasks and roles. The expertise of each staff member is capitalized on through an organizational environment that encourages and expects idea sharing, innovation, and continuous improvement.
 

 
Schools that are leaders in sustainability maintain a sense of urgency by establishing processes for continuous improvement. They question the status quo by monitoring and evaluating practices. Feedback loops (in the form of data reporting, standing meetings, forums, or surveys) encourage learning and ongoing evolution of the program.

 
Communication is the primary tool for inspiring change, sharing the vision, prompting new behaviors, and recognizing accomplishments. Any effort to create change requires communication through a variety of channels with a clear and consistent message.

 
Changing behavior is most successful when the behavior expectation is communicated simply, clearly, and through a variety of channels, such as personal interactions, email, newsletters, announcements, posters, assemblies, and social media. The messages should define the desired behavior (e.g. turning out the lights) and use language that is meaningful, tangible, and reflects school values, culture, and social norms.
 

 
Demonstrating the vision through action is as important as communicating it with words. Once a school adopts sustainability as a vision, students and teachers will see and suggest new opportunities for sustainability. People learn how to conduct themselves by watching the behaviors of others. Everyone in a school, especially leaders, communicates the vision through their actions; they walk the talk by modeling the behaviors they desire to see. When actions accurately reflect the vision, change efforts are more successful.

 
Social norms are one of the greatest and least recognized predictors of our behavior. If our peers or neighbors are conducting themselves in a certain way, then we are more likely to conduct ourselves in the same way. For instance, competitions between schools, classrooms, or individuals are motivating because they establish social norms by communicating and comparing the behavior of peers. Comparative feedback is especially motivating when teachers, students, or entire schools are accustomed to competing against each other.