people, planet, purpose

Our People, Planet, Purpose initiative prepares students and all our community members to make a positive impact on the world's environmental and social challenges they will face beyond the walls of our school. We achieve this by integrating our main focuses as a school:

Learning to connect with ourselves and people

To be empowered with purpose and compassion involves learning how to be connectors. Through our student well-being and belonging efforts we aim to introduce and grow the skills and capacity needed to show up for a fellow Dragon and community member. Students and community members have opportunities to reflect on their own identity, culture, and how they relate with others. Although we still have much learning and growth to do, ISB is on a journey to examine our school culture, policies, practices, and the ways we interact with each other and the world. ISB’s focus includes promoting safe spaces to talk about identity, bystander intervention training, culturally responsive teaching practices, child safeguarding policies and practices, and building our intercultural development and relationship skills.

Learning to connect with our planet

Care for the environment and making a difference for the generations to come. ISB is a pioneer of sustainability in international schools. We’ve made huge progress in becoming greener as a school and community and we lead by example by demonstrating to our community and others how to respect and preserve the planet. We empower our students with purpose and compassion, through initiatives like our ‘Living Lab’ approach, integrating sustainability into campus life and education while fostering community engagement and ensuring all stakeholders have a voice in our sustainability efforts. We are now aiming to make ISB a carbon-neutral organization, seeking to inspire more green advocates among our students and community while amplifying our impact on the world.

diagram illustrating the 5 strategic focus areas

People

Student Well-being and Belonging

ISB strives to be a community where thinkers and leaders find their place in the world. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion aligns with our goals to develop global citizens empowered with purpose and compassion. We invite and welcome new students, families, and employees to join us in living up to our Mission, Vision, and Strategic Focus Areas.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commitment statement:

ISB is committed to being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive school whereby all individuals belong and are seen, valued, and heard. In line with our strategic focus areas, we build strong peer relationships by fostering a safe and inclusive school community. Diversity is our strength, and we are enriched through our differences. We stand for equitable treatment regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, color, cultural background, identity, orientation, expression, age, level of ability, or status. We build a community empowered to address racism and inequities.

We commit to purposeful action and recognize that our Commitment Statement and belonging work will evolve and continuously improve as our community learns and grows together.

graphic of student well-being and belonging strategic focus areas

We have established several committees across ISB to ensure diverse voices and ideas are heard and shared:

Anti-Bias Anti-Racism (ABAR) Committee

The Anti-Bias Anti-Racism Committee (ABAR) is comprised of employees, who represent roles and divisions across ISB. Its core purpose is as follows:

"We take action to confront bias and address racism at ISB through building literacy for racial and social justice. We prioritize adaptive change with a commitment to promote equity, to acknowledge and reduce harm, and affirm the diverse identities represented at ISB. We employ allyship and are focused on systemic change to reduce and address bias and racism."

The ABAR Committee seeks to:

build allyship within our community
articulate goals and action plans to address racism and bias
promote systems and practices that build a culture of belonging and inclusion at ISB
identify metrics to measure impact

Student iLEAD High School Club

iLEAD (Inclusivity, Leadership, Equity, Advocacy, Diversity) is a high school club, established in 2020, that focuses on student leadership and diversity, equity, and inclusion topics with the mission to foster belonging in our community.

We explore important topics as students, related to belonging, building skills such as public speaking, facilitation, and advocacy, and we offer many opportunities fo students to be advocates for inclusion in our ISB community.

Board of Trustees Task Force

In the 2024-2025 school year, the Board of Trustees convened a task force to formulate a Social Responsibility and Inclusion statement for adoption into Board policy. The Task Force included ISB Trustees, employees, parents, and alumni to draft language and provide unique perspectives in support of the values of belonging and inclusion at ISB. Students, employees, families, and trustees across ISB engaged in a variety of ways to comment on initial drafts. Through this community effort, the policy will be voted on in June 2025 for adoption in the 2025-2026 school year.

Planet

What is Sustainability @ISB?

We define sustainability as the ability to explore, plan, create, and act with the purpose of contributing positively to the environment, society, and the economy. This net impact philosophy encourages broader thinking, inspiring students and the community to apply sustainable practices in various school projects that expand beyond the walls of our school.

Sustainability is the commitment to inspire and prepare students to engage thoughtfully with global challenges, while at the same time respecting people and the planet. We utilize our campus as a ‘Living Lab’ for hands-on learning about critical issues that affect us socially and environmentally.

As we continue to be a leader in sustainability among international schools, we take pride in embracing a holistic approach, recognizing its significance across all areas of our school. In 2020, we developed a comprehensive long-term plan to manage our impact on people and the planet. Find the full Sustainability Action Plan here to learn more.

This year, our continued efforts reinforced our focus on the areas below:

graphic of sustainability focus areas for the school year 2024-2025

Community Initiatives

As our commitment to sustainability extends beyond the classroom, we also engage the community through a variety of impactful initiatives such as:

ISB's Farmers Market connects local farmers with our community, promoting organic produce and supporting sustainable agriculture.
Our community-wide Clothing Exchange encourages responsible consumption by allowing participants to trade gently-used clothing, reducing waste and promoting secondhand items.
We continue to expand the use of ceramic mugs in our cafeterias and the Green Café, significantly reducing single-use plastics.
Our solar panels and Green Wall not only enhance our campus but also demonstrate our dedication to renewable energy and protection of biodiversity.
ISB's bike-sharing program promotes eco-friendly transportation options, making it easier for our community to choose sustainable travel.

Sustainability Impact Report 2024

To keep our community informed, we report our results yearly. Below is the latest Impact Report published in April of 2024

First page of the PDF file: Sustainability_Item_2024Mayv3

ISB Sustainability Reports Archive

Sustainability Shoutouts

Purpose

Empowered with purpose and compassion

We aim to empower students with purpose and compassion, reinforcing our mission as an inspiring international community. We recognize that education extends far beyond academics; it encompasses the whole child, ensuring that every student develops integrity, strength of character, and emotional health; through this, we cultivate a sense of agency and responsibility in our students to create positive change within their communities and the world at large. By integrating sustainability into the fabric of our educational philosophy, we aim to create a culture where sustainable practices become second nature.

Through various opportunities, such as service projects and partnerships with local organizations, we enable students to apply their knowledge in ways that serve others and contribute meaningfully to society. Ultimately, our purpose is to empower the next generation of leaders, innovators, and advocates with deep understanding of the interconnectedness between people, purpose, and sustainability. We aim to equip students with purpose to make a lasting difference for both people and the planet.

Student Leadership and Engagement

Sustainability Summit

ISB hosted the first Green-novation Summit, promoting inter-school collaboration and student leadership in sustainability. Our alumni participated, sharing expertise and showcasing innovative practices, marking a significant milestone for the school.

Youth Leadership Workshop

Students from ISB and other international schools in Beijing came together to unpack issues of belonging and sustainability in a youth leadership workshop.

Student-facilitated Professional Development

Students facilitated professional development sessions with around 100 ISB staff on how to improve belonging and inclusion in our school culture and help staff understand their role in making a difference to address climate challenges.

Career Professionals Panel

Students organized a panel of career professionals in Beijing to share their experiences with bias and racism as young students and in their careers, providing important insight and guidance to students on how to connect with others across difference.

Peace and Justice Youth Conference

ISB in Action: a team of six students attended the first event of its kind, the UNIS Hanoi Peace and Justice Youth Conference in which students engaged in workshops with facilitator, Daniel Wickner. The students made life-long friendships, discussed real issues and solutions to build a more inclusive global-minded international school community, and genuinely connected with others across differences.

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