Culver City Unified School District

Shea Cunningham, Founding Principal of BALANCEDAPPROACH, established and managed an award-winning sustainability program for Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD). The program was created to build a community of eco-literate and globally responsible citizens and transform the District’s operations into a beacon of sustainability by reducing waste and increasing resource efficiencies.   
 
As the Inaugural Sustainability Program Director, Ms. Cunningham implemented, managed and tracked recycling, composting and landfill waste reduction, pollution reduction, energy efficiency and water conservation efforts across the district’s ten campuses. She designed a co-curricular eco-literacy program, leveraging Cal EPA/DOE educational assets, and developed District-wide sustainability policies. She led assemblies and trainings for over 6,500 students and staff; wrote and managed two CalRecycle grants totaling over $300k, which enabled the purchase of custom sorting stations and other waste management supplies for the District; developed a third-party certified green purchasing program; and established an EPA Portfolio energy tracking system.
 
Ms. Cunningham also facilitated the installation of a 750 kW solar PV system, which accounts for 50% of the District's needs and saves CCUSD over $400k annually. CCUSD’s solar PV system avoids an estimated 2,333 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year, while an estimated 80% of total waste is diverted from the landfill, including 10 tons of recycling materials and 450 tons of organics/food waste, avoiding over 1,000 metric tons of GHGs every year.

The District-wide program features the following at each school site:  Student leaders elected via student council; sustainability staff liaisons; regular training on environmental stewardship; meetings with custodians and food service staff to ensure they are being provided adequate support and are engaging in the program; a “Rethink Food Waste” social engagement program, launched in collaboration with the California EPA, focused on reducing food waste and sharing food with local family “backpack program" and homeless shelter. Trainings includes building knowledge of poverty and hunger and correlation with energy and water usage, and associated GHG emissions.
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In 2017, CCUSD was one of only five School Districts in the United States to receive a US Department of Education Green Ribbon Award for demonstrating exemplary achievement in the Green Ribbon Award’s “Three Pillars.” Pillar I: reduce environmental impact and costs; Pillar II: improve the health and wellness of schools, students, and staff; Pillar III: provide effective environmental education that teaches many disciplines and is especially good at effectively incorporating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, civic skills, and green career pathways.
 
Other awards received by CCUSD under the leadership of Ms. Cunningham:

• United States Congress, Certificate of Recognition for Environmental Excellence (2018)
• California Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Green Achiever Award (2017)

• Cornell University’s Smarter Lunchrooms Program Gold Level Award (2016)

• SoCal Environmental Excellence Development (SEED) Award, Education & Outreach (2015)

• CA Green Schools Leadership Award for Leadership in Energy (2013)