Oxfordshire's Ecological Footprint

A report to Oxfordshire County Council, October 1999

This report uses the Stepwise™ ecological footprinting methodology. This report is © Best Foot Forward Limited. For permission to reproduce or otherwise publicly display this report, please contact: Best Foot Forward, The Future Centre, 115 Magdalen Rd, Oxford OX4 1RQ, UK.

Introduction

This report was prepared by Best Foot Forward in collaboration with Oxfordshire County Council.

Oxfordshire County Council is committed to the principles of sustainable development. The aim of this study is to explore the environmental sustainability of Oxfordshire with a view to helping to inform future policy decisions.

The ecological footprint analysis presented in this report seeks to indicate:

• the area of land, or footprint, that Oxfordshire would require to sustainably maintain the current lifestyles of its residents; 
• the relative contribution of various activity components to this footprint and; 
• how this compares with the sustainable average 'earthshare'.

This report is based on both locally sourced data and 'best guess' estimates for Oxfordshire calculated by BFF from sub-regional, regional and National sources. As more environmental data becomes available it will be possible to enhance the detail in this report and focus in on specific categories of impact - for example, energy and food.

A Primer on Ecological Footprinting

The ecological footprint (EF) is a means of measuring and communicating human induced environmental impacts upon the planet . Although initially used to measure the impact of countries using trade-related data, Best Foot Forward has pioneered a technique by which to measure the EF of regions.

Although the method only gained widespread publicity in 1995, EF has rapidly taken hold and is now in common use in many countries at the national and local levels; for example, Mexico, US, Canada, Holland, Sweden and Australia.

The EF uses land as its 'currency'. By taking a holistic approach the footprint traces the resource supply chains and accounts for waste disposal and emission assimilation. The analysis thus determines the land and sea area required per year to sustainably maintain current consumption, by means of prevailing technology.

Imagine a glass dome over Oxfordshire - what area would this dome have to be to ensure that the population could maintain their current lifestyles using only the productive land enclosed within the dome?

Land and sea is divided into four basic types; bio-productive land, bio-productive sea, energy land (required for the absorption of carbon emissions) and built land (buildings, roads etc.). A fifth land type, bio-diversity land, refers to the area of land that would need to be set-aside to preserve species biodiversity.

Example 1: A cooked meal of fish and rice would require bioproductive land for the rice, bioproductive sea for the fish, and forested 'energy' land to re-absorb the carbon dioxide emitted during the processing and cooking.

Example 2: Driving a car requires built land for roads, parking, and so on, as well as a large amount of forested 'energy' land to re-absorb the carbon emissions from petrol use. In addition, energy and materials are used for construction and maintenance.

To evaluate the results in the context of global ecological sustainability, the use of bio-productivity land can be compared to the world bioproductive land available per capita. The most recent estimates state the average 'earthshare' at around 2 hectares per person .

This is simply calculated by dividing the total amount of productive land on the planet by the global population. The 2 hectare 'earthshare' can therefore be considered as the maximum level of consumption to achieve sustainability without depriving either future generations or those now living in other regions of the world.

An annual Footprint of Nations report, now funded by a leading Swiss bank, provides a National context for considering regional footprints.

The most recent of these reports, based on 1995 data, gives a footprint for the UK as 4.6 hectares per capita compared with a bioproductive capacity of just 1.5 - a deficit of around 3 hectares.

This nonetheless compares favourably with the figures for the United States who have a footprint of 9.6 hectares and a bioproductive capacity of 5.5 hectares and therefore a national deficit of 4.1 hectares per capita. Globally, the average footprint is 2.2 hectares - as opposed to the available footprint of 1.9 hectares - suggesting that we are using more natural resources than can be sustained in the longer term.

Data

To enable an EF analysis to be undertaken of Oxfordshire, it was necessary to procure regional consumption data. This required an intensive period of data gathering relying on both internal and external sources. Where local data was not available it was estimated from National, regional or sub-regional information. Best Foot Forward maintain a database of sources which permit us to make an informed decision on the suitability and accuracy of published information. Selected sources included:

• County Council Waste Management, Environment and Structure Plans
• County Agenda 21 Strategy Document
• Utility Companies - Gas, Electricity and Water
• Friends of the Earth 
• Office of National Statistics
• DETR

Data sources are indicated in Table 1.

See Appendix 1 for details of the Stepwise methodology used to calculate the ecological footprint impacts from consumption data.

Results

Table 1 presents the results of the EF study of Oxfordshire. The consumption items listed in the Table have been dictated primarily by data availability. Some items are missing, including air and sea freight, and some materials - such as plastics - are aggregated as part of the general waste stream.

To account for these omissions some assumptions have been made. For example, the conversion algorithms for the waste and recycling categories are all based upon life cycle data that incorporates the impacts occurring during production of each material (e.g. glass or metal). In the case of air and sea freight transport, no sufficiently applicable data was obtained. It could also be argued that these forms of transport are not significant to Oxfordshire (see also Appendix 1 for more information about the Stepwise methodology).

Table 1: The component footprint analysis of Oxfordshire (1997 data)[1].

Key Findings

• This study estimates that the area of land required to sustainably support the population of Oxfordshire at current consumption rates and with prevailing technology to be 3,129,454 hectares of world average productive land. This is an area about 12 times the actual size of Oxfordshire.
• The average Oxfordshire footprint (5.69ha) is around 20% higher than the UK average (4.6ha) - see Figure 1.
• Each Oxfordshire resident uses more than 5½ hectares. This is, on average, almost three times the current average sustainable earthshare - see Figure 1.

Because of the conservative assumptions used in this analysis, these figures are likely to be under-estimates of actual consumption.

Distribution of Impacts by Category

An analysis by category of impacts shows the highest impact category to be 'materials and waste', followed by 'food, land & wood', 'transport & freight' and then 'utilities' - see Figure 2 below.

Distribution of Impacts by Component

Figure 3 (below) shows the distribution of impacts by component - ordered in terms of the size of impact. It can be seen that the largest 3 impacts are waste (commercial and household) and road freight. Note that for comparative purposes, no double counting adjustments have been made in the Figure 3 bar chart so, for example, the impact of road freight is also counted within the waste and food components.

Recommendations

National and Regional authorities have a stated commitment to sustainable development. This is commonly defined as consisting of economic, social and environmental elements.

EF is a means of simply measuring, monitoring and communicating the environmental dimension of sustainable development. It indicates the relative size of Oxfordshire's impact on the environment and how far the County needs to go to achieve ecological sustainability.

Footprint analyses similar to that presented here have been used to formulate sustainability targets, inform decision-making, for educational and public awareness purposes. The EF analysis can also provide a framework for future data gathering exercises (see Next Steps section).

While the purpose of this report is not to produce specific recommendations for further action, the reader might find the following generic action points helpful. In many cases, authorites are already considering or implementing initiatives such as those presented below. Also provided, are contact details for organisations able to assist with specific resources and advice. Reducing Your Region's Footprint

Materials and Waste

This category is the one with the largest per capita footprint. This value indicates a high level of materials consumption and waste. To improve performance in this area it is necessary to target reducing, reusing and recycling materials.

Initiatives/ideas in this category include:

• Community composting schemes
• Encouraging 'green' businesses which use materials which would otherwise be wasted.
• Waste reduction educational packs and schemes targeted at schools, business clubs, shops and offices
• Door-to-door recycling collections
• Waste exchanges - where organisations can advertise 'waste' for use by others 
• Specific re-use schemes - for example, targeted at furniture or computer equipment

Utilities

This category includes the direct supply of energy to businesses and households in the region. To improve performance in this area it is necessary to improve energy conservation and move towards more renewable energy supplies.

Initiatives/ideas in this category include:

• Promotion of renewable energy suppliers
• Local planning that encourages renewable energy production facilities (wind generators, for example)
• Promotion of energy conservation such as fridge 'energy savers', low energy lightbulbs, loft insulation, hot water tank jackets and so on.
• Energy advice hotline to provide advice on commercial and domestic energy conservation measures.
• Solar clubs - to encourage installation of solar water heating systems

Food, Built Land and Wood products

This category includes a range of diverse impacts which relate to the direct use of natural renewable resources - food, land and wood. Included in the footprint accounting for food and wood are impacts associated with transportation and processing- these are often the most significant parts of the footprint. Much of the suggestions for energy and transportation efficiency therefore also apply to this category. In addition, the following initiatives/ideas are suggested:

• Local farmers markets to reduce 'food miles'
• Restoration of brown field sites and avoidance of green belt development to maintain the stock of productive land and biodiversity
• Promotion of organic agriculture and other low energy farming systems
• Educational packs and schemes to encourage the purchasing of organic, local foods and discourage use of hardwoods
• Local food directories to promote local suppliers
• Promotion of locally sourced, certified timber and charcoal

Transport 

This category includes all forms of transport - road freight transport tops the list in terms of significance followed by travel by private car. The level of road freight transport is indicative of a high level of consumption of goods from outside the region and/or the production of large tonnages of goods within the region which are transported elsewhere. For this reason, the allocation of the impact of road freight transport to a specific region is problematic and - in any case - often outside of the influence of any single local authority. The suggested initiatives/ideas therefore focus more on local schemes aimed at reducing general traffic impacts

• Walk-to-school schemes to reduce the 'school run' congestion
• Introduction of pedestrianisation and cycle-friendly transport measures
• Restrictions on workplace parking and the promotion of car sharing schemes and public transport alternatives - often called 'Green Commuter Plans' 
• Break-bulk schemes to keep large lorries out of urban centres
• Work with local businesses to reduce empty lorry trips
• Introduce advertising schemes - such as Travelwise - to educate motorists about alternatives

Next Steps

This 'broad brush' analysis of Oxfordshire's ecological footprint suggests a number of ways forward for the County Council. These are briefly summarised below. For a further discussion of these please contact Best Foot Forward.

Improved data collection

The analysis presented in this report highlights the need for improved data collection at a local level. The forthcoming Local Government Bill places a new duty on local authorities to care for the environment and to enable impacts to be measured and monitored it will be necessary to extend data collection. Some local authorities, Lancaster for example, have already gone some way towards this ideal with their comprehensive Green Audit report. More accurate local data will not only improve the accuracy of the ecological footprint analysis but also benefit other environmental management programmes. 

Specific campaigns 

Despite its broad focus the footprint analysis presented here makes a strong case for focusing on waste minimisation. It clearly stands out as the most significant category of impacts. Both commercial and domestic waste have a large footprint. The cost of Landfill Tax also provides a financial incentive for tackling waste. Integration of footprint into environmental reporting The ecological footprint analysis could be integrated into Oxfordshire's annual environmental report. As an aggregated indicator it provides a useful overview of the state of Oxfordshire's environment. Improvements in data collection would also improve the sensitivity of the analysis allowing it to more accurately track trends over time. The footprint could be used for target setting, public communication and awareness raising. 

Detailed analysis of one or more components 

A further option is to undertake a structured programme of research into Oxfordshire's environmental impacts component by component. Much of this activity is already underway as part of the Local Agenda 21 process at the County and District levels. A good example is the work in the area of food. Using the framework provided by the ecological footprint, it would be informative to explore and detail the relative impact of food production, processing and distribution. Scenarios could then be developed which looked at the scale of the difference that would result from local, organic production, farmers markets and the promotion of healthier diets. Investigation of other components could proceed in a similar fashion.

Further Information

For more information about ecological footprint analysis or to discuss the contents of this report, contact Nicky Chambers at Best Foot Forward, The Future Centre, 115 Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1RQ. Tel. (01865) 250818, Fax (01864) 794586, E-mail mail@bestfootforward.com or see the BFF web site: www.bestfootforward.com.

Additional contact details are provided below arranged by category. Organisations which deal with several categories are listed at the end.

Materials and Waste

Waste Watch and National Recycling Forum Gresham House 24 Holborn Viaduct London EC1A 2BN Wasteline: 0171 248 0242 (for general recycling enquiries) Fax: 0171 248 1404 Waste Watch promotes action on waste reduction and recycling.

For information on the disposal of used engine oil, call the Oil Bank Line: 0800 66 33 66

Aluminium Can Recycling Association (ACRA) 5 Gatsby Court 176 Holliday Street Birmingham B1 1TJ Tel: 0121 633 4656 Fax: 0121 633 4698 Provides information on aluminium can recycling.

Steel Can Recycling Information Bureau 69 Monmouth Street London WC2H 9DG Tel: 0171 379 1306 Fax: 0171 379 1307 Promotes steel can recycling.

British Glass Northumberland Road Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2UA Tel: 0114 268 6201 Fax: 0114 268 1073 Trade and research federation which co-ordinates the national Bottle Bank Scheme.

Bag-it-and-Bin-it Campaign Water Services Association 1 Queen Anne's Gate London SW1H 9BT Tel: 0171 957 4567 Fax: 0171 957 4666 Campaign to encourage householders to bag and bin sanitary products.

Tidy Britain Group The Pier Wigan WN3 4LX Tel: 01942 824620 Fax: 01942 824778 The national anti-litter organisation, campaigns for the improvement of local environments.

RECOUP 9 Metro Centre Welbeck Way Woodston Peterborough PE2 7WH Tel: 01733 390021 Fax: 01733 390031 Provides information on recycling plastic bottles.

Utilities

Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) Westgate House Prebend Street London N1 8PT Tel: 0171 359 8000 Campaigns for energy efficiency and conservation.

Neighbourhood Energy Action St Andrews House 90-92 Pilgrim Street Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 6SG Tel: 0191 261 5677 Fax: 0191 261 6496 The national charity aimed at tackling the heating and insulation problems of low-income households.

Centre for Alternative Technology Llwyngwern Quarry Powys SY20 9AZ Tel: 01654 702400 A demonstration and research centre for renewable energy.

Energy Technology Support Unit (ETSU) Building 168 Harwell Laboratory Oxfordshire OX11 0RA Tel: 01235 432450 Fax: 01235 432662 A special unit for public enquiries on energy. Involved in research into energy technology and renewables

National Energy Foundation 3 Benbow Court Shenley Church End Milton Keynes MK5 6JG Tel: 01908 501908 Fax: 01908 504 848 An educational charity working toward more efficient, innovative and safe use of energy.

Local Energy Advice Centres - for an information pack and details of your local centre call: 0345 86 86 86

National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection 136 North Street Brighton BN1 1RG Tel: 01273 326313 Fax: 01273 735802 Seeks the improvement of the environment by promoting the reduction of air pollution. Fact sheets available, please include an SAE.

The Environment Agency General Enquiries Hotline: 0800 80 70 60 Emergency Hotline: 0645 333 111 The Government agency responsible for protecting and improving the air, land and water environment of England and Wales.

Food, Land and Wood

Sustainable Agriculture Food and Environment (SAFE) Alliance 38 Ebury Street London SW1A 2HH Fax: 0171 823 5673 Promotes environmentally friendly food production.

The Fairtrade Foundation 7th Floor Regent House London WC2B 6RH Tel: 0171 405 5942 Fax: 0171 405 5943 E-mail: fairtrade@gn.apc.org Aims to alleviate poverty in the Third World by encouraging industry and consumers to support fair trade.

Soil Association 86-88 Colston Street Bristol BS1 5BB Tel: 0117 929 0661 Fax: 0117 929 2504 Campaigns and provides information on organic food.

New Consumer Charitable Trust 52 Elswick Road Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 6JH Tel: 0191 272 2364 Researches ethical and sustainable consumerism.

Marine Conservation Society 9 Gloucester Road Ross on Wye Herefordshire HR9 5BU Tel: 01989 566017 Fax: 01989 567815 Promotes the sustainable management of the marine environment.

Out of this World 52 Elswick Road Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 6JH Tel: 0191 272 1601 / 1615 Ethical trading supermarkets in Bristol, Newcastle and Nottingham.

Women's Environment Network 87 Worship Street London EC2A 2BE Tel: 0171 247 3327 Fax: 0171 247 4740 Aims to empower, educate and inform women who care about the environment.

UK Eco-Labelling Board 7th Floor Eastbury House 30-34 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TL Tel: 0171 820 1199 Fax: 0171 820 1104 An environmental labelling scheme for consumer products.

Association for Environment Conscious Building Nant-y-Gareg Farm Saron Llandysul Carmarthenshire SA44 5EJ Tel: 01559 370908 Fax: 01559 370908 An information centre for environmental issues within the construction industry.

Building Research Establishment Bucknalls Lane Garston Watford WD2 7JR Tel: 01923 894 040 Fax: 01923 664 010 Contact for details of the Environmental Standards Award for housing.

Henry Doubleday Research Association Ryton Organic Gardens Ryton-on-Dunsmore Coventry CV8 3LG Tel: 01203 303517 Fax: 01203 639229 Promotes organic gardening and home composting.

Centre for Alternative Technology Llwyngwern Quarry Machynlleth Powys SY20 9AZ Tel: 01654 702400 A demonstration and research centre for alternative lifestyle ideas.

Ecological Trading Company 659 Newark Rd Lincoln LN6 8SA Tel: 01522 501850 Fax: 01522 501841 Specialises in sustainable tropical hardwood.

British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) 36 St Mary's Street Wallingford Oxfordshire OX10 0EU Tel: 01491 839766 Fax: 01491 839646 A practical conservation charity helping people to protect and improve the environment.

The Wildlife Trusts The Green Witham Park Lincolnshire LN5 7JR Tel: 01522 544400 Fax: 01522 511616 The national co-ordinating body for local wildlife trusts and groups. Also runs Wildlife WATCH for children.

Council for the Protection of Rural England Warwick House 25 Buckingham Palace Road London SW1W OPP Tel: 0171 976 6433 Fax: 0171 976 6373 A national charity that helps people to protect their local countryside via a network of local groups.

Tidy Britain Group The Pier Wigan WN3 4LX Tel: 01942 824620 Fax: 01942 824778 The national anti-litter organisation, organises National Spring Clean Week and Britain in Bloom.

The Groundwork Foundation 85-87 Cornwall Street Birmingham B3 3BY Tel: 0121 236 8565 Fax: 0121 236 7356 Promotes environmental improvements, restores landscapes and wildlife habitats.

Common Ground Seven Dials Warehouse 44 Earlham Street London WC2H 9LA Tel: 0171 379 3109 Fax: 0171 836 5741 Runs projects which combine practical action with a sense of the cultural significance of surroundings.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Panda House Weyside Park Godalming Surrey GU7 1XR Tel: 01483 426444 Fax: 01483 426409 International nature conservation organisation working for wildlife, their habitats and the environment.

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) The Lodge Sandy Bedfordshire SG19 2DL Tel: 01767 680551 Fax: 01767 692365 National charity that takes action for wild birds and the environment.

Global Action Plan (GAP) 8 Fulwood Place Grays Inn WC1V 6HG Tel: 0171 405 5633 Fax: 0171 404 3432 Promotes a six month programme of action for individual households to take practical, positive environmental action.

Transport

Environmental Transport Association The Old Post House Heath Road Weybridge KT13 8RS Tel: 01932 828882 Fax: 01932 829015 Offers advice on public transport availability and a road rescue service for motorists.

Transport 2000 Walkden House 10 Melton Street London NW1 2EJ Tel: 0171 388 8386 Fax: 0171 388 2481 Campaigns for environmentally sound and socially responsible transport policies.

Sustrans 35 King Street Bristol BS1 4DZ Tel: 0117 926 8893 Fax: 0117 929 4173 Website - http://www.sustrans.org.uk Public Information Line: 0117 929 0888 Designs and builds safe paths for pedestrians and cyclists. Co-ordinates the National Cycle Network.

Friends of the Earth 24-28 Underwood Street London N1 7JQ Tel: 0171 490 1555 Fax: 0171 490 0881 Website - http://www.foe.co.uk National environmental lobbying group campaigning on a wide range of issues including pollution, transport, energy, waste and wildlife. Provides research and information. For Friends of the Earth contacts in Scotland and Wales, please see the local information section.

Cyclists Touring Club Cotterell House 69 Meadrow Godalming Surrey GU7 3HS Tel: 01483 417217 E-mail: cycling@ctc.org.uk Organises National Cycling Week and provides information on cycling issues.

Pedestrians Association 126 Aldersgate Street London EC1 4JQ Tel: 0171 490 0750 Works for safer and greener walking conditions.

Aviation Environment Federation Sir John Lyon House 5 High Timber Street London EC4V 3NS Tel: 0171 329 8159 Fax: 0171 329 8160 Provides information on the aviation industry.

Appendix 1 About the Stepwise Methodology

Best Foot Forward has spent several years researching the data behind the ecological footprinting methodology which is marketed as the Stepwise™ service. A specific algorithm has been developed for each of the main components listed in Table 1 which estimates the energy, resource use and pollution created for each unit of consumption (for example, each kilowatt-hour of electricity produced using gas, each kilometre travelled by air, each tonne of food purchased and so on).

A full description of the calculation method is outside the scope of this report. However, as an example of Stepwise approach, Table 2 shows the data and calculations behind the algorithm for passenger car travel.

Table 2: Data sources and calculations used in the footprint algorithm for UK passenger car travel[1]

Adjusting for Double Counting

It is not possible to simply combine the individual component footprints to obtain an average per capita footprint. This is because the components 'double count' some of the underlying environmental impacts.

For example, the footprint for food includes an allowance for the processing and transportation of that food - both of these are already accounted for in the freight and commercial energy components.

Before deriving a per capita average footprint it is therefore necessary to adjust the footprint value of some of the components removing those impacts which are believed are double counted.

The EF and EF per capita in Table 1 are reported after considering these adjustments. However, the footprint figures shown for the individual components and categories are not corrected to allow for more realistic comparisons.

Statistical Sensitivity

There are several analytical issues to be highlighted. The first and most obvious point is that the results of any EF calculation are only as good as the quality of the data used.

As introduced above, part of the data set has been adjusted from National or South East regional or sub-regional information. Where this has occurred, assumptions have to be made to allow the calculations to proceed. The example of passenger car travel will be used to illustrate this point.

The data for passenger car travel was referenced from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) publication 'Regional Trends 32' (1997). This gives a figure for car travel in the S.E. England at 7,032 miles per person per year. To calculate car travel for Oxfordshire this figure was converted to kilometres and multiplied by an estimate of Oxfordshire's population (550,000).

Calculating consumption data from regional and even national data can mask the distinctiveness of a community. For example, Oxfordshire's car use could vary significantly from the regional average. However, currently available data sets do not allow us to perform any finer degree of analysis.

Some authorities have collected more local data allowing them to more accurately estimate local car travel.

It should be noted that such sensitivity issues are not due to the EF methodology itself but the absence of ideal data. To part illustrate the sensitivity of this EF study, Table 3 shows the range of estimates obtained during this study and details the main factors which influence the difference between them.

Table 3: Sensitivity of results obtained during this study

Boundary Issues

Another matter worth highlighting in terms of data gathering is what BFF refer to as 'boundary issues'. Local authority regions do not have controlled borders - they continuously flow into one another with the free passage of goods, services and people. Thus specifically allocating consumption to one region can be problematic.

Take, for example, traffic. Should cars travelling through a region be counted among the consumption figure for that region or allocated to the region of origin or destination? Another example is energy. If energy-intensive products are manufactured in one region for consumption elsewhere who should bear the environmental cost of the production?

When calculating footprints for a region, the approach taken here has been - as far as the data availability allows - is to allocate consumption to individuals at their place of residence. This is consistent with the approach taken by the official regional data providers such as the Office of National Statistics and DETR.