As part of its Sustainable Schools initiative, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) today launched a new online tool that will give pupils a chance to investigate the sustainability of their school.

The new online tool named Carbon Detectives' Kit has been designed for providing guidance to pupils about the process of measuring the carbon footprint of their school and allowing them to analyse that what can be done at an individual as well as school level to cut carbon emissions.

This process enables detectives to learn about some of the main issues concerned to climate change and will give an opportunity to develop a comprehensive list of practical strategies their school can implement to cut its carbon footprint.

For the calculation of the carbon footprint of the school, the detectives will be asked to check how the school is generating carbon dioxide in a set of eight assignments focusing on various aspects of school life.

After completing the assignments, detectives will find the total amount of CO2 their school is producing as well as the proportion of the carbon footprint per person.

From these findings, pupils can establish practical ideas for the actions which can make their schools more sustainable.

Kevin Brennan, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children, Young People and Families said, "By asking pupils to investigate the sustainability performance of their school, we hope the Carbon Detectives' Kit will inspire them to make real and positive changes both to reduce their school's carbon emissions and more widely in every aspect of their lives".