GLOBAL: Salesians launch #DBSchoolsGoGreen to promote ecological awareness and sustainability
Don Bosco Green Alliance coordinating worldwide campaign
(MissionNewswire) The Youth Ministry Sector of the Salesian Congregation launched a new global campaign titled #DBSchoolsGoGreen, aimed at promoting ecological awareness and sustainable practices across Salesian educational institutions worldwide. The initiative was officially announced by Father Rafael Bejarano, general councilor for youth ministry, through a letter addressed to all youth ministry delegates in the various Salesian provinces.
In the letter, Fr. Bejarano recalls the mandate of the 29th General Chapter, which calls on every Salesian province to “promote formation in integral ecology and the ecological education of young people.” He noted that Salesian schools represent an ideal starting point for translating this commitment into concrete action.
To support schools in this journey toward sustainability, Fr. Bejarano has proposed adopting the UNESCO Green School Quality Standard. This framework provides concrete guidelines to help schools become environmentally sustainable. It is well suited to Salesian schools as it actively involves not only students and teachers but the entire educative-pastoral community.
The UNESCO Green School Quality Standard offers a comprehensive set of guidelines and actions for greening schools and other learning environments. It identifies four core areas for implementing sustainability principles and ecological action. These include school governance, facilities and operations, teaching and learning, and community engagement. For each of these areas, the UNESCO manual proposes specific actions that school communities can undertake.
Concluding his letter, Fr. Bejarano said, “It would be excellent if all the schools in the province could launch this program during the present year 2026. Ensuring that all our schools #DBSchoolsGoGreen through the use of the Green School Quality Standard is one of the priorities I invite you to focus on in the year ahead.”
The #DBSchoolsGoGreen campaign is being coordinated across the Salesian congregation by the Don Bosco Green Alliance. The initiative has already been received with enthusiasm in several provinces.
Salesian Brother Lucas Mario Mautino, youth ministry delegate for the Argentina North Province, said, “We welcome with joy the #DBSchoolsGoGreen 2026 campaign as a concrete sign of our pastoral commitment to young people and to the care of our Common Home, in full harmony with Don Bosco’s dream and the Church’s call to an integral ecology that educates, sensitizes, and transforms.”
Don Bosco Green Alliance is the global platform for ecological initiatives and activities, carried out by the Salesians of Don Bosco. Launched in 2018, Don Bosco Green Alliance is today an active network where youth from Salesian institutions and organizations exchange ideas and work together to address the environmental challenges the world is facing.
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Photo courtesy of Don Bosco Green Alliance
Don Bosco Green Alliance – RMG – Youth Ministry Sector launches #DBSchoolsGoGreen
