Sustainability & Global Citizenship
At Dehong, we aim for our schools, staff and students to “Live Worldwise”. This means Sustainability and Global Citizenship are infused and embedded across our whole organisation. Our goal is to encourage our communities to make informed choices, take inspired action and create positive impact.
As part of a holistic education, we are committed to providing purpose-driven learning experiences that are guided by a deep sense of connection to people and the planet. As an organisation, we are also committed to developing, measuring, and maintaining sustainable practices.
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‘Students Come First’ is a core value of Dulwich and Dehong Community that guides our approach to virtually everything we do. We expect everyone in our organisation to deepen their awareness of sustainability, global citizenship, and the importance of diversity and inclusion as we work together to provide our students with an increasingly comprehensive Worldwise education. As a family of schools, we encourage shared and peer learning so that schools, students, and teachers share ideas and best practices with one another.
Nurturing Global Citizens
Our ambition is that every Dehong student is instilled with a sense of pride for their national culture whilst benefitting from a holistic curriculum that advocates the importance of developing global perspectives. We enhance Worldwise education content and pedagogy, and embed it in all aspects of our Dehong schools, and also encourage service through inner- and inter-school engagement, community participation, and active citizenship. All our schools have established Global Citizenship Competency Frameworks to ensure the important components of global citizenship are understood and embedded in daily classes and school culture and to enhance students’ global literacy and competency.
Students of Dehong Shanghai participated in “Rise Against Hunger”
Safeguarding and Wellbeing
In our community, we place protection at the heart of everything we do. Following the group Safe at School Framework, we brought together Chinese and International colleagues to work on the development and implementation of a framework for Dehong Schools to ensure that every member of our Dehong community understands their role in keeping our students safe from any physical or emotional harm.
Dehong Safe at School mini programme is available to
all Dehong staff to learn Safeguarding Policy
Circle Solutions are used in Dehong Schools to encourage children
to fully express their feelings and learn how to "keep myself safe"
Enriching Learning
We are also committed to enriching students' learning experience. For instance, we foster holistic skills, qualities, and approaches beyond the classroom through tech-enabled learning, co-curricular activities, outdoor learning, and experiential opportunities; integrate local culture as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion into teaching and learning, respect and embrace cultural diversity; and create opportunities for students to interact with, lead, and find innovative solutions to local and global challenges.
Students of Dehong Xi’an participated in MADD Festival
to learn about local textile industry and explore the environmental impacts of fast fashion
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If our mission to provide a pioneering education for a sustainable future is to be meaningful, environmental sustainability must be not only something we practice but a central part of who we are.
Carbon Mapping and Climate Action
We strongly support the goals of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP). Following COP26 in 2021, Dulwich and Dehong Community embarked on a process to measure, reduce, and offset emissions. We reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing schools’ knowledge, engagement, and interaction with carbon mapping, with the intention to implement carbon measurement, reduction, and offsetting practices. Besides, the construction of all new campuses of Dehong School adheres to the philosophy and purpose of sustainable development. We embed sustainability criteria and aspirations in campus design, construction, facilities, and operations in often difficult contexts, and ensuring our partners and suppliers are aware of our organisation’s environmental values and goals.
Dehong Beijing’s and Dehong Shanghai’s new campus have received a two-star rating under China’s Green Building Design Label system；
New campus at Dehong Beijing has earned LEED® Certification – a green building rating system by the U.S. Green Building Council
Resource Management
We are committed to handling and managing resources responsibly throughout the process of procurement, consumption, and waste management, including building and implementing the waste hierarchy in waste prevention and management; saving water and promoting water reuse practices; introducing and implementing guidelines, intentions, and indicators to support more sustainable practices and positive social impacts with partners, vendors, and service providers.
We support second-hand uniform sale/swap activities organised by parents and students, and collaborate
with uniform supplier to introduce recycled fabric
Food and Sustainability
We work with our catering partners to serve thousands of meals per day across our schools. We are responsible for providing safe, healthy, nutritious, and delicious food, while remaining mindful of the environmental impacts of our food choices. We increase our offering of healthy, nutritious, and delicious plant-based menu options to have a significantly greater impact on sustainability. Besides, we ensure there is no, or the least possible, food packaging, and no single-use items, especially plastic and promote ethical sourcing of food and beverages as well as eco-friendly and local food production systems.
Dehong Xi’an and Dehong Shanghai actively participate in actions to reduce food waste
Dehong Shanghai offers ‘Qidi’ activities where students have opportunities to plant vegetables,
hatch chickens, and figure out solutions to ensure the healthy growth of their animals and plants
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At Dulwich and Dehong community, we treat each member of our community with respect, and develop the role that our schools play in building and supporting community relationships, intercultural understanding, and a keen sense of connectedness with the world.
Staff
We are committed to protecting employees’ rights and interests, providing competitive compensation and benefits, listening to employees’ voices, encouraging their participation, and ensuring the safety and health of employees and workers.
Dulwich and Dehong Community provides food and supplies packs, and wellbeing supports for
all the employees in Shanghai who are affected by lockdown under COVID-19 pandemic
We also establish and improve professional training systems, support employees’ career development, and celebrate diversity and provide equal opportunities in an inclusive environment for people with different abilities, backgrounds, and perspectives.
ConnectED Institute provides all the employees with diversified training courses
Community Engagement
Education is not just about students, schools, and teachers. We believe that building a connected school community improves learning outcomes and enhances wellbeing for the students, families, local communities, and wider society. At Dehong, we also build and sustain a strong and collaborative community of students, parents, and staff.
Parent-Teacher-Student Conference at Dehong Beijing
All parents of students at Dehong schools are automatically members of the Friends of Dehong, a parent organisation that provides a focal point for the school community. The Friends of Dehong facilitates social interaction among school and families through interactive activities and the organisation of holiday and year-end celebrations.
For Alumni, we launched the Worldwise Alumni Network (WAN) in November 2021 to provide alumni of all our schools with professional, social, and service opportunities. WAN offers professional networking and social events, career counselling and mentorship opportunities, job fairs and internships, community outreach initiatives, and creative engagement in the spheres of innovation and entrepreneurship.
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Governance is about how well an organisation is overseen and managed. Dulwich and Dehong family aims to maintain a governance structure that assures well-informed decision-making, risk management, transparency, and accountability.
Cybersecutiry and Data Privacy
We always pay attention to protecting confidential and sensitive data, as well as intellectual property. All employees are required to complete annual training on Data Protection and Cybersecurity.
Integrity and Compliance
Dulwich and Dehong Community is committed to compliance with its internal Code of Conduct and raising awareness through training and communication, and by developing our risk management, monitoring, and reporting processes.
We are compliant in all areas across all our schools, including rapidly developing our cybersecurity and data privacy capability and have established a robust internal Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework to ensure we hold ourselves accountable at all levels of our organisation.
