British Gas, Team GB & ParalympicsGB Promote Greener Futures with New School Program
October 20, 2023
The UK’s largest energy company, British Gas, the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA) have announced a five-year partnership, which will see British Gas power Team GB and ParalympicsGB ahead of Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028. As part of the partnership, a new school program iteration – Get Set for Positive Energy – will educate young people on energy conservation and sustainability through education and sports activities.
This new partnership, which sees British Gas become Team GB’s and ParalympicGB’s Official Energy Services Partner, is aimed at empowering young people and athletes to make a difference in their lives and in their local communities. Get Set for Positive Energy is an iteration of the BOA and BPA’s Get Set initiative, which was originally created as the official education program for the London 2012 Games. The free program, intended to reach one million children and families across the UK, will educate young people and their communities about the role we can all play in saving energy and creating a greener future. It seeks to inspire primary school children to use their positive energy to drive change and build healthier habits that will benefit their future and future generations.
The UK’s Department for Education’s (DfE) sustainability and climate change strategy for education states that by 2025, all education institutions will have to put a climate action plan in place. Given this, the new program will support teachers in providing a range of free learning resources that can be easily adopted as part of a wider green educational plan. Primary school children across the UK will also get the opportunity to partake in a challenge next year, which will put their learning to the test by encouraging them to redesign their school environment to be more sustainable.
British Gas is also developing a Pathways program to support former athletes with new career opportunities within the organization. It offers a way for athletes to transfer the skills and disciplines they’ve developed in their athletic careers to new roles within the British Gas workforce. To launch the partnership, Olympian Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Paralympian Jack Hunter-Spivey unveiled a mural at St Mark’s Catholic School in Liverpool. The mural intends to be an inspiring visual reminder of the contribution they can make in building a healthier and sustainable future.
ParalympicsGB table tennis bronze medallist, Hunter-Spivey said: “The Get Set programme is incredible! Not only does it get children involved in sport whatever their ability, it will also enable them to become knowledgeable about the environment, setting them up with skills that will be of huge value to society in years to come.”
Get Set was created to inspire young people to maintain healthy, active lifestyles and live by the Olympic Values of friendship, excellence and respect and the Paralympic Values of inspiration, determination, courage and equality. It now offers a broad range of free resources and activities for schools and community groups across the nation, which can be used in classrooms, on the playground and at home.
Source: Team GB