Analyzing the ecological footprint at the institutional scale – The case of an Israeli high-school

One way in which institutions can implement the idea of sustainability is through the use of ecological indicators that will characterize the current situation and help determine where to focus efforts in order to achieve the goal of sustainability. The use of the ‘Ecological Footprint Analysis’ (EFA) represents an innovative attitude to calculate the load that an institution imposes on the natural environment. The goal of this study is to illustrate the benefits of using EFA at the institution scale. Our case study is the ecological footprint of one high school in the city of Haifa, Israel. We present a unique method integrating between institutional and individuals’ sourced data concerning consumption patterns at the institutional level. We then present the breakdown of the school footprint into four main components: electricity, transportation, food and materials. The results of our research reveal an overall footprint of 314 global hectares (gha), from which food and electric power are the main components followed by materials and transportation. Based on the results, we developed scenarios for potential future reduction of the high school ecological footprint.