1. Ecological
Footprint for Schools

2. What is the Ecological Footprint?
The ecological footprint is an instrument to measure the way in which we change and burden the environment through our actions.
The more resources we use and the more pollutants we produce, the larger our footprint will be.

3. How can we measure the effect of our actions?
We compare what WE HUMANS produce with what NATURE gives us and pollutants that NATURE can break down
US NATURE
The purpose of the footprint calculator is to show the extent to which we burden nature through our actions and what we would actually have to do to live in a sustainable way. “Living in a sustainable way” means only using the amount of resources that nature can produce and only producing the amount of pollutants that nature can absorb. If we do more of both, then the footprint is too large and, in other words: we are destroying out planet.
Example: If more trees in a forest are felled than regrow, one day the forest will be completely destroyed. If we want to save our forests, we must only take the amount of wood that will regrow..
Pictures:
The picture on the left “Us” shows in a simplified way what we need for production and what we produce. The picture on the right “Nature” symbolises the natural cycle and shows that nature absorbs renewable sources and decomposes pollutants.

4. What we as humans can do We consume…: Fossil resources
(Oil, natural gas, coal,…)
Renewable resources
(Wood, natural fibres,
vegetable oils…)
Non-renewable resources
(rocks, metals, uranium…)
… and we produce:
Everything we need to live
(houses, food,
clothes, means of
transport, electricity…)
…and much more
(things that we do not need to survive)
All these different resources impact on the evaluation of a product. This means that the more (fossil) resources that we use to manufacture products and the more pollutants that we release into the environment, the larger the ecological footprint will be.

5. What nature gives us Nature has a large engine: The Sun
The sun is our number one source of energy and our only natural income.
The sun is responsible for:
- Plant growth,
- Water cycles,
- Wind
- And much more

6. Renewable Resources and Energy …
The energy of the sun gives us renewable resources
And energy.
These resources and energies
are renewed for us year by year
produce very few pollutants
Renewable resources mean a
small footprint.

7. Fossil resources …
… as oil, natural gas or coal are actually also stored solar energy, but
- their formation took millions of years,
Picture: Coal, natural gas and oil are formed from animal and plant debris, which were covered by mud and water and thus sealed off from oxygen. Through microorganisms, high pressure and high temperatures these products evolved over millions of years.
Compare a savings account (fossil resources) and pocket money as income (renewable resources and energy. If you don’t spend all of your pocket money, you can start saving with a savings account. On the other hand, if you keep withdrawing money from your savings account, at some point you will have spent everything you have.
- Once they have been used up, they cannot be replaced
They produce a large amount of pollutants.
Therefore, use of fossil resources means a
large footprint.

8. What nature does as well:
The pollutants that we produce are absorbed and decomposed in different ways by nature:
By the air
By water
Nature not only provides fossil fuel, but also decomposes pollutants.
The large footprint caused by the use of fossil energy sources is impacting on climate change and in other ways.
By the soil
But the amounts that nature can absorb are limited.

9. The ecological footprint…
… is made up of what we consume
and how much we burden the environment with pollutants

10. Examples
These pictures show that the footprint of a product is caused by the whole cycle - from the cradle to the grave.
The footprint for different areas can be calculated: for single products (as, for example, a car), for activities (such as going on holiday), for a person (the personal footprint with all products that he/she consumes and all his or her activities) and, of course, for schools.

11. The ecological footprint of a school…
…is made up of:
• electricity consumption and how electricity mix is used,
• need for heating and how much we heat,
• water consumption,
• waste,
• food: how much and the type of food consumped
• Mobility – how school students and teachers come to school
• which products and the amount bought (paper, Werkstoffe or chemicals)

12. The ecological footprint of a school
To calculate the footprint of a school,
follow this link:

13. How can we reduce the footprint?
Each and everyone of us can improve the way we live!
There are lots of different ways…

14. … a couple of ideas
Meat leaves a larger print than vegetables. People who often forego meat, reduce their footprint.
In the same way, journeys by car and aeroplane leave a larger print that cycling or travelling by train. To contribute to footprint reduction, you should use your bike for short journeys and take the train when you go on holiday rather than a plane.

15. … more ideas
People who normally buy in supermarkets and do not look at the country of origin of the product, will normally be buying a product with a high footprint. It is much more sustainable to buy food from a local farmer or at a farmer’s market in the town.
Organic products are more sustainable as no chemicals are used thus reducing the footprint again.

16. Thank you for joining us!