Clean Energy Spotlight: Sara Ross
The school year is just about over, but Sara Ross isn’t close to done fighting to make public schools healthier, more efficient, and ultimately carbon-zero. That’s why she’s our latest #CleanEnergySpotlight.
“I wish more education leaders understood the opportunity and the imperative to embrace climate solutions in schools and how not doing so is a bet against our kids' future,” she shared with CE4AEF.
Schools are infrastructure, don’t forget: They consume nearly 10% of all the fuel used by buildings in the U.S. But like so many roads and bridges, a lot of schools are in bad shape. A 2020 government report found more than half of all “public school districts need to update or replace multiple building systems or features in their schools.” One in three have AC or HVAC systems “in fair or poor condition,” according to the U.S. Department of Education.
But Sara doesn’t believe replacing a broken 30-year-old gas boiler with a new version of the same really helps schools, students, or taxpayers. She wrote recently, “evidence suggests that schools that opt for fossil fuel-based systems are likely to spend 20-25 percent more over 30 years.” Taxpayers suffer, and students do too: Thanks to climate change, “at least 9 million students missed some amount of school…due to a natural disaster” in 2017.
In short, Sara is passionate about connecting schools with clean energy — because she knows what’s at stake. Her desire to channel that knowledge into action led her to co-found UndauntedK12 in 2020 alongside long-time education leader, Jonathan Klein. This national nonprofit is working to advance policies that will help America’s 130,000+ public schools to become carbon zero.
Before UndauntedK12, Sara founded Sungage Financial to help more households afford solar energy by offering them easy, online access to low-cost financing.
She had the idea when her family got solar panels at home. “It made so much sense,” she has said, “and I wanted to help more families like mine get access to the opportunity to live sustainably and save money.”
So she did. A stay-at-home mom, she started Sungage, and it thrived. In 2014, the company won a $700,000 award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative.
“Dirty energy is killing us,” Sara told CE4AEF. “And we don't need it to be that way. Clean energy can improve our health, provide family-sustaining jobs, and ensure that our kids have a habitable planet.”
Today, Sara is focused on urging leaders in Massachusetts, in the U.S. Congress, and across the country to empower schools to become healthier, more energy efficient, and pollution-free. It’s better for students, for districts, and our world, and it’s why Sara is our latest #CleanEnergySpotlight.
