Sustainability & EnvironmentLevel 2 · 10–12 hrs8 sessions · 75–90 minutesTeam 4–6 (5 is ideal; see roles)Project brief, draft
Audit our zone for energy and waste, and tell us which three fixes to fund first.
Client scenario
Welcome to the audit team. Your team has been contracted by the school's Facilities Manager to audit one zone of the building: what it uses in electricity, what it throws away, and what to fix first.
Client: The Facilities Manager (the teacher in role, or the real facilities manager as a guest client).
The school wants to cut energy costs and waste in this zone, but it has a limited improvement budget and doesn't know which fixes are worth it.
Roles
Audit Lead
Energy Auditor
Waste Auditor
Cost Analyst
Quality Lead
The twist: The facilities manager hands over the Budget Memo (H3): next year's improvement budget has been cut in half.
Standards mapped
Mapped means the framework is verified and the teacher confirms the evidence. It isn't a claim that a project meets a standard.
NACE (Dec 2025)
ED Employability Skills Framework
CA Standards for Career Ready Practice
NGSS Science & Engineering Practices
CCSS ELA
CCSS Math
Not tagged in this brief: ISTE Students.
Safety, devices and privacy
Adults handle all building and electrical equipment. Students look and record only. They never plug in, unplug, move or switch equipment or lights on or off, and never change a thermostat or any other setting.
The optional plug-in energy meter is connected, read and removed by an adult (the teacher or facilities staff). Students write down the reading the adult gives them.
No climbing and no opening anything: no ladders or chairs, no ceiling tiles, electrical panels, closets or equipment covers. Light fixtures are counted from the floor. Device wattages come from the reference cards (H8), not from labels on the back of equipment.
Staff-only rooms are off limits (electrical, boiler, custodial and server rooms), unless the facilities manager walks the team past from the doorway.
Waste is tallied by looking only. Students never reach into, sort, lift or empty a bin. If a bin has a lid, an adult lifts it. No gloves are needed because nothing is touched.
The audit is observation only. Nothing in the building is changed, tested or adjusted by students at any time.
School devices only. No phones, and no personal accounts. No photos: zone maps and fixture notes are sketched by hand. Audit sheets list room numbers, never the names of staff or students, and don't record what anyone is doing.
Audit walks happen with an adult present, when rooms are empty or with the room teacher's permission, and quietly.
Creative Dad On the Job is in-class client project work. It is not a paid, off-campus On-the-Job Training (OJT) placement.
Budget levels
Totals and Amazon links come from the materials sheet.
Materials links go to Amazon. Prices are estimates and may change.
Quick Start
Digital downloads only. $0 to buy. Printing is noted separately.
$0 to buy. Printing $3–$6, noted separately.
Print-only version workable
Printing: audit sheets, reference cards, info card, handoutsPrintingAbout 60–80 pages$3–6
ClipboardsBorrow or school has1 per team$0
CalculatorsBorrow or school has1 per team$0
School devicesBorrow or school has1 per team (optional)$0
Classroom timer or wall clockBorrow or school has1$0
Full Experience
Up to $25 per class.
About $3–$6 per class. Fits under $25 per class.
Full Transformation
The bigger kit, with every optional item included.
Optional: plug-in energy meter (adult use only)Optional1–2$15–30 eachAmazon
The rest of the brief is part of a subscription
Sessions, role duties, deliverables, materials, free tools, and the teacher setup use the same Creative Dad account as the project library. There is no separate student login.