Climate change has long been a part of everyday life for many people and institutions – including Waldorf schools worldwide. With the newly established Waldorf Climate Balance Fund, the Friends of Waldorf Education now wish to set an example: climate accounting, CO₂ offsetting, and educational support are to go hand in hand in future.

Since 1976, the Friends of Waldorf Education have been supporting educational initiatives in all regions of the world. With the new fund, we are expanding this mission to include an ecological dimension. The idea was initiated by Christoph Dörsch, Managing Director of the Association of Independent Waldorf Schools. His proposal: Waldorf communities in Germany could offset their carbon footprint – whilst specifically supporting Waldorf schools in the Global South.

This vision gave rise to a climate accounting tool that channels donations directly into specific climate protection projects: solar installations, water treatment, school gardens, or other sustainable measures. A prime example is the Hekima Waldorf School in Dar es Salaam. There, power cuts and water shortages regularly make learning conditions difficult. A planned solar power system and new water tanks are now set to ensure a stable energy supply and clean water – and thus a more reliable school routine.

The campaign draws inspiration from two strands of Goethean future ecology: Albrecht Schad’s image of the Earth as a living organism and Stefan Ruf’s approach to ‘climate psychology’, which aims to bridge the gap between knowledge and action. Both ideas are rooted in Waldorf education and are shaping the fund’s focus: knowledge, relationship, and action are to be combined into a new nature-culture partnership.

Not only individuals but also institutions are encouraged to get involved. On our website, participants can calculate their own ecological footprint and donate directly to offset it. As confirmation, there is a “climate certificate” and – for organisations – a partner confirmation seal. In this way, climate protection becomes visible and binding in everyday life. The Friends of Waldorf Education themselves are also getting involved and will offset their flight emissions in future – for example, in the area of voluntary service, for the flights of volunteers to their placement locations.

The Waldorf Climate Balance Fund invites the global Waldorf movement to take responsibility: “Acting from a place of love – for people and the Earth.”