Our Program
What is Certification?
EcoSchools certification represents environmental excellence for elementary through secondary schools in Canada. Participation in the program allows students, teachers, school administrators, custodians, and parents to get a clear picture of their current environmental practices and take action to reduce their environmental footprint.
Participation in the program is free for all publicly-funded and First Nation, Métis and Inuit schools in Canada. Check out our Certification Guide for a comprehensive overview of the program.
How It Works
EcoSchools is an annual certification program that supports and recognizes environmental action in schools. Certification runs between September until June of each year.
Connect
Form an EcoTeam and register/log in to your school’s account in the EcoSchools Certification Application (ECA).
Review
Review your school’s current environmental practices before getting started for the year.
Plan
Create your school’s action plan in the ECA based on your sustainability review.
Engage
Get your school excited about environmental projects, campaigns, and events throughout the year. Use the many resources available in the ECA to support your journey.
Reflect
As your school engages in actions throughout the year, remember to document all the initiatives by filling out the certification questions in the ECA.
Celebrate
Celebrate your school’s amazing achievements at the end of the school year! Certification results are released by mid-June.
Certification levels
Throughout the school year, schools complete actions in their online application and earn points towards their certification. There are four levels of certification:
- Bronze: 50-65 points
- Silver: 66-74 points
- Gold: 75-100 points
- Platinum: 101+ points
When a school becomes a certified EcoSchool, they receive a digital certification seal that reflects their certification level. This seal can be displayed on a school’s website and social media accounts, newsletters, email signatures, and more.
Why certify?
Join a global movement
Become part of a national and international community of schools committed to advancing sustainable learning and action.
Track your impact
Monitor and measure your school's environmental efforts throughout the year, comparing your progress to other schools and previous years.
Celebrate achivements
Certification recognizes and rewards your EcoTeam’s hard work, providing a meaningful way to celebrate and share your accomplishments with the entire school community.
Build a culture of sustainability
Foster a lasting culture of sustainability within your school, encouraging environmentally responsible practices and behaviours.
Inspire student leaders
Promote student leadership by engaging students in environmental advocacy and giving them the tools to make a positive impact.
Explore the EcoSchools Certification Application (ECA)
Track your school’s certification progress over the year. Navigate to different pages including:
- Our Plan: Where you can view and manage the actions you want to take this year.
- Library: Where you can view all the actions not currently in your plan.
- Achievements: Where you can view your school’s certification history and download past certification seals.
- Impact: Where you can view the impact of your school and the collective impact of all schools in Canada as we work towards a cleaner, greener, and better future!
Testimonials
"Being a part of EcoSchools for several years now has given me the opportunity for professional development in learning about environmental matters and help guide our students to taking action and bringing awareness to important issues. Student have benefited greatly and have really incorporated their learning into their daily lives at home with their families as well. Parents have shared their testimonials of how much being a part of our school's Eco Team has given their child confidence and leadership skills along with valuable knowledge. Many of our students have continued on with participating in Eco Clubs and initiatives as they've moved onto Secondary schools and many have even chosen career paths in post secondary schools as well which has been very exciting to hear".
Diane Paterson
"I am very proud that our school has been recognized for the work that we are doing. We are very committed to the environment and we are excited to be part of this cross-Canada community of caring citizens who will lead us into a brighter, more sustainable future!"
Natasha Hart
"Every year, EcoSchools Canada provides HSC with opportunities for growing a stronger 'whole-school approach' to sustainability. We have already grown so much in 4 years, and our annual plans always include EcoSchools Actions - all the linked action resources are seen as very valuable tools. The diversity of action options helps us engage every school community member, from transportation and food services to purchasing and IT. Every year we have new student leaders who confidently take bold actions to reach our goal of being the most biodiverse campus in Canada and who help us reach our audacious goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030".