Sustainability awareness does not develop overnight, particularly in markets where environmental education is still limited. In Kazakhstan, we have partnered with Eco Network, a non-governmental sustainability organisation founded in 2016 that operates nationwide with waste-management programmes, school initiatives and community education, in close cooperation with local authorities.
Eco Network designs and runs the educational programme. We contribute, together with a small number of other businesses, with practical examples related to packaging, food waste and resource efficiency.
By engaging directly with schools, we have chosen a long-term, educational approach to sustainability. Through the Green School Project, children learn to understand waste, resources and responsible consumption, and to see the role packaging plays in everyday life. The initiative is built for lasting impact through education and dialogue.
Why education matters in emerging sustainability markets
When we began building our presence in Kazakhstan in 2023, we faced two clear challenges. Awareness of Ecolean and our packages was low in the major cities, and sustainability was not yet a strong driver of consumer behaviour. Concepts such as ESG, waste reduction and lifecycle thinking needed context before they could be discussed meaningfully.
As Alina Sadiekova, Managing Director for Central Asia and Eastern Europe at Ecolean, explains:
“If people don’t understand why sustainability matters, it is very difficult to explain why a product should sometimes cost more. Education is the first step.”
Rather than relying on B2B communication alone, we chose to reach future consumers, and their families, through education.
Starting with children to reach society
Children are naturally curious and open to learning, and they influence household behaviour far more than we often recognise. Discussions that start in the classroom frequently continue at home, shaping how families think about resources, waste and everyday consumption.
“Children come home and talk about what they learned at school. That is how sustainability can become part of family conversations, and how Ecolean can become known for more than just packaging,” says Alina Sadiekova.
In categories such as milk and yoghurt, where children are key consumers, that dynamic matters even more.
How the Green School Project works
The Green School Project is a voluntary, one-year programme for students aged 10 to 12. Participation is free and based on interest rather than obligation. The curriculum focuses on the sustainability topics that are most urgent in Kazakhstan, with waste management as a central theme.
We contribute sessions on:
Reduced material use
Food and resource waste
Everyday behaviour and consumption
The content is deliberately practical. Sustainability is explained through games, discussions and real-life examples.
“We are very careful not to turn this into promotion. The goal is understanding, not selling,” says Alina Sadiekova.
From classroom theory to everyday behaviour
A key strength of the Green School Project is its close connection to daily life. Schools introduce waste separation systems, and children learn how different materials should be sorted. Even where the surrounding infrastructure does not yet allow full recycling, the educational value remains.
Beyond sorting, students are encouraged to reflect on everyday habits: water use, electricity consumption and sharing resources. These may appear to be small actions, but in the local context they are real behavioural change.
Sustainability-themed fairs, clothing swaps and book exchanges help children understand that resources are limited and that reuse has value.
Children teaching children
One distinctive element of the programme is peer-to-peer education. The students spend their year learning about sustainability, and then pass it on: as “green coaches” they teach younger children using the project materials.
Teaching reinforces what they have learned, builds confidence, and keeps sustainability awareness embedded in the school community over time, rather than ending with a single academic year.
Open dialogue and difficult questions
Students are encouraged to ask questions, and many of them do. Some of the most insightful discussions come from the hardest questions: why waste is not recycled locally, or whether transporting it for recycling adds more emissions than it saves. We handle those conversations openly and honestly.
“Sometimes the questions from ten-year-olds are more challenging than those from adults,” says Alina Sadiekova. Rather than presenting idealised solutions, the dialogue acknowledges real-world trade-offs, geographic distances and infrastructure limitations.
Focus, local relevance and recognition
The Green School Project began in Astana in 2023 and has run every year since. We support one school per year in the capital, prioritising depth and continuity over rapid expansion.
What decides whether a programme like this leaves anything behind is not its size. It is whether the same people come back the following year, whether the material fits the local context, and whether the conversation is honest.
“It doesn’t require large budgets. It requires commitment, local understanding and patience,” says Alina Sadiekova.
The project has been recognised both by Eco Network and by the European Business Association in Kazakhstan for its contribution to environmental education and social responsibility. That recognition has increased interest from other companies looking to learn from the model and explore similar initiatives.
