Three years of CO2ero – Climate neutral Waldorf schools

The beginning

When the first article about our idea appeared in Erziehungskunst in April 2020, none of us would have thought that we would get this far with it. In the meantime we have achieved a lot with the support of the German Association of Waldorf Schools (BdFWS). Today we can say about ourselves that we have mentored 30 educational institutions and reached hundreds of people – directly and indirectly. These people work every day to make their establishments more (ecologically) sustainable, which in turn attracts a lot of attention.

In spring 2020, we had our first talks with Christoph Dörsch from the BdFWS and it quickly became clear that a good partnership would develop. The Association had been planning for some time to become more active in the field of sustainability and we had ideas, time and energy. So we started right away in autumn 2020 with six pilot schools in our first year of mentoring. Our goal is to accompany and support the schools on their way to climate neutrality.

The first year

In order to be able to put our plans into action, we applied together with the BdFWS for funds from the Software AG Foundation and the Waldorf Foundation. We were able to inspire both of them with our ideas, so that from January 2021 our previously voluntary work could be remunerated by the BdFWS which created permanent jobs for our project under its umbrella.

The first workshop held at our project facilities represented a special moment. People were enthusiastic and happy about the support from actors outside the school community. Being there when measures are implemented and goals are achieved makes up for all the day-to-day struggles of our work. It shows us that we are on the right track.

In addition to the individual support of the individual establishments, the networking of the project schools with each other is also important to us. So we organised webinars, networking meetings and a sustainability conference. With the conference we wanted to make the topic visible for the whole Waldorf movement and offer the mentored schools a space for learning and exchange. The fact that it was conducted online due to Covid was, to our surprise, very well received and had some advantages, which is why it will continue to be held online.

The second year

Together with Christoph Dörsch, we were fortunately able to convince the Software AG Foundation, the Waldorf Foundation and the von Tessin Foundation to support us for another year and a half.

For the second school year we were able to welcome eleven new Waldorf schools, one school in anthroposophical social welfare services and one Waldorf kindergarten. We adapted our concept somewhat for the newly added establishments. At the same time we developed the second year of mentoring together with the six schools that we had already mentored for a year.

From the very beginning we attached great importance to cooperation with other climate protection projects in Germany. Our approach is to use already existing structures as we have a common goal that we can achieve faster and better if we work together. This enabled us, for example, to switch from our Excel accounting tool to the school calculator from Schools for Earth, Greenpeace's school climate project, for greenhouse gas accounting this school year.

A lot also happened in the team this year. Through a restructuring of job shares, we found two more people and were suddenly in the position of conducting job interviews in consultation with the BdFWS for the first time. We were also joined by our first intern in the second half of the year. So we learned increasingly to think like employers and to take responsibility. We are grateful to the BdFWS and Christoph Dörsch that we can act so independently in our project and are supported to develop freely. Thus we decided within the project to dispense with classic hierarchies. We all get the same hourly wage and work autonomously in our respective areas.

The third year

Now that our six pilot schools had trekked through our two years of mentoring, we released them into independence. As it was important for the BdFWS that not only Waldorf schools but also Waldorf kindergartens and other independent school providers should be mentored, we included not only seven new Waldorf schools but also a Waldorf kindergarten and a Montessori school in our project. The Montessori school helped us to gain experience with other types of schools. Because from the beginning it was clear that we would only exist as a project of the BdFWS for a limited time.

Outlook and founding

As of August 2023, we will stand on our own two feet. In late 2022 we founded our association CO2ero e.V. and have since been working on project ideas for the future in parallel with our ongoing mentoring. Our goal is to support educational establishments as efficiently as possible in reducing their emissions and to train upcoming generations in dealing with the climate crisis. We are currently in the process of formulating various project ideas and applying for funding for them. It remains to be seen whether we will implement PV consulting, multiplier training or a study on the status of all Waldorf schools in the climate sphere. We'll keep you posted!