Ecological footprinting

There's a lot of talk about measuring carbon, but measuring sustainability means looking more broadly at where consumption exceeds environmental limits. An ecological footprint measures the total amount of land needed to make a product, it includes carbon emissions but goes further.

Land is a resource with absolute limits, and the ecological footprint is a way of understanding how what humans do - making products, running organisations, feeding small countries - uses up land. It is a powerful approach, particularly for industries which rely on limited land resource because they are producing food, wood, biofuels or bioplastics.

We are world leaders in ecological footprinting, having used the methodology since 1997. The core textbook on ecological footprinting, 'Sharing Nature's Interest', was co-written by our directors Craig Simmons and Nicky Chambers, with Mathis Wackernagel. Best Foot Forward is a founding and active member of the Global Footprint Network, and we have worked with the European Commission to encourage states to adopt the ecological footprint indicator.

If you want to get ahead of the game by thinking beyond carbon, find out what else you can measure or contact us to talk things through.

What is your ecological footprint? Use our calculator to find out.