GDS Adopts Student-backed Green Energy Plan

They met more than two dozen times with various GDS administrators, worked on a cost-benefit analysis, conducted a high-school-wide survey to gauge student interest, and penned an appeal to Head of School Russell Shaw in a bid to make their “green dream” a reality. 

The students—Mac Penniman ʼ25, Oliver Wolin ʼ26, and Sam Pastreich ʼ25— sustained their push across two academic years. Finally, their hard work paid off. In August 2024, GDS negotiated an electricity supply contract that includes Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from electricity-generating wind farms. In effect, the School’s fossil fuel energy sources—such as coal and natural gas—are now offset by sustainably generated electricity, allowing GDS to maintain a carbon-neutral electricity supply.

Mac learned about the new contract in early September after meeting with GDS Director of Operations and Innovation Tim Lyons. “It was a surreal moment,” Mac said. “It shows that if you work hard and navigate the bureaucracy, you can make real change.”

The students gave a shout-out to Tim and Chris Oster, who manages environmental stewardship and campus commuting at GDS. “Tim and Chris took a lot of time to work with us,” Oliver said. “We pushed it along, but they deserve a lot of credit because in the end, they’re the ones that got [the contract] done.”

Teaming up for Change 

Mac, Oliver, and Sam embarked on their clean energy mission as part of their work for the student-led Enviro Club, which promotes environmental awareness and sustainability within the GDS community. While the School took a major step by installing solar panels on both the HS and LMS buildings in 2019, the trio was eager to explore more green energy alternatives with Chris and Tim.

They started regularly meeting with them and HS Science teacher C.A. Pilling, the Enviro Club faculty advisor. Together, they gathered data to frame the scope of the issue. Chris’s expertise and number-crunching helped contextualize the data by showing, for instance, that the 3.65 million pounds of carbon dioxide emitted annually at GDS is equivalent to about 2,000 transatlantic flights.

It wasn’t long before the students (who co-head the Enviro Club) decided that acquiring Renewable Energy Credits was the most viable path, and they researched the options. But the process was slow-going. The students thought they’d lost traction. While switching to a clean power plan is a simple opt-in procedure for residential properties, it’s far more complicated for a school. Entities with large power needs face more considerations and logistical hurdles, in part because their electricity contracts can be spread across multiple accounts, as was the case with GDS.   

A “Hail Mary” Move

Mac said he and his peers were just about to give up when he made a last-ditch “Hail Mary” move and wrote to Russell on August 18, 2024, urging him to help move the “green dream” forward. 

“It’s time to reroute GDS's energy bill to green-energy producers to minimize our carbon footprint and fulfill our sustainability aspirations,” Mac wrote. “It’s the highest impact move we can make to reduce climate change and live up to our values. Doing so would not just make the students (and parents) happy, it would also put GDS in a leadership role among its peers, and provide a great bragging point for the school.”

All the stars aligned, for the letter coincided with the end of the School’s existing electricity supply contract, Tim said. “In a great display of advocacy and youthful impatience, they went over our heads and talked to the big guy, and that was a catalyst,” Tim added. “They taught us how to keep pushing for the things you’re passionate about, and we taught them that sometimes it takes a minute to negotiate.”

Chris said he hopes this successful collaboration serves as a decision-making model for the School. “Hopefully, working on plans with students will become part of the GDS fabric,” Chris said. “It makes sense for them to have some influence because they are our main users.”

* Top Photo: Mac Penniman ʼ25, Oliver Wolin ʼ26, and Sam Pastreich ʼ25 (l > r) successfully pushed GDS to make the switch to green energy.