A new start to the new year

Branksome Hall News

Branksome faculty and staff started the new year on Monday, January 7, with a morning information session focused on raising awareness among staff and faculty about reducing the impact of our lifestyle on the planet, using an on-line tool called the Zerofootprint calculator. Zerofootprint is a not-for-profit organization that provides information, products and services for a global network of consumers and businesses that wish to reduce their environmental impact.

A Way Forward


Rosemary Evans, Director of Academic Studies and Chair of the Branksome Environmental Sustainability Steering Team (BESST), opened the PD session by screening A Way Forward, a National Geographic-UN Foundation video on climate change. She explained how Branksome hopes to use the Zerofootprint calculator “to assist us in becoming more aware of our environmental impact and to introduce practices that will support enhanced sustainability.”

Our footprint

All of our decisions and patterns of behaviour add up to a “footprint,” which is a way of measuring people’s demands on nature. The more we consume, the bigger our footprint. Much of our food, goods, fuel and resources comes from somewhere else. Our waste, particularly greenhouse gas emissions, can have an effect on people around the world.

Calculate it


Julia Malcolm, the school’s Sustainability Coordinator, has been working with Zerofootprint on customizing the calculator for Branksome. After the January 7 session, 114 staff registered on the Zerofootprint calculator. The average footprint for Branksome registrants was 11.31 tonnes of CO2, compared to the Canadian average of 9 tonnes. Each participant set personal goals for reducing their eco-footprint through simple changes in their personal lives, ranging from using less paper or driving less to eating more local food and produce.

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