Every year people demand more from nature than nature can regenerate. The impact includes the loss of wildlife habitat, collapsing fisheries, and climate change, affecting our economies and quality of life. To create a sustainable future, Global Footprint Network is changing how the world manages its natural resources. We empower decision-makers at all levels to better understand resource needs, limits, and dependencies and guarantee citizens’ well-being and economic prosperity. Together, we are creating a future where people, planet, and economies thrive.

Today, most countries, and the world as a whole, are running ecological deficits. In fact, as of 2020, it would take 1.75 Earths to support humanity’s demand on nature.  Thanks to Ecological Footprint and biocapacity data, we can take the necessary steps to allow everyone to live well, and within the means of one Earth. Learn more about this global imperative in thisTEDx talk by Mathis Wackernagel, Founder and President of Global Footprint Network.

In order to achieve sustainability, governments worldwide need access to actionable data. Every year, Global Footprint Network publishes the National Footprint Accounts, including the Ecological Footprint and biocapacity for over 200 countries and regions. The Ecological Footprint Explorer allows users to explore and download data. This powerful resource opens a window into human demand and nature’s capacity to meet that demand. Learn more about the National Footprint Accounts in this video.

Each year, Global Footprint Network calculates Earth Overshoot Day, which marks the date when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the year. For the rest of the year, we are increasing our ecological deficit by depleting local resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Global Footprint Network estimates that approximately every eight months, we demand more renewable resources and CO₂ sequestration than what the planet can provide for an entire year.

The global effort for sustainability will be won, or lost, in the world’s cities, where 70 to 80 percent of the world’s population is expected to live by 2050. By providing tools to local and regional governments, we promote their resilience and empower them to provide for thriving communities within the planet’s resource budget. Learn more about Global Footprint Network’s work with local and regional governments.

The heart of Global Footprint Network’s work is the Ecological Footprint.  The Footprint measures human demand on nature, expressed as a single, easy-to-understand number that’s scalable from a global to individual level.  Footprint accounts work like bank statements, documenting whether we are living within our ecological budget or consuming nature’s resources faster than the planet can renew them.

On the supply side of the Footprint, biocapacity represents the planet’s biologically productive land areas including our forests, pastures, cropland and fisheries. These areas, especially if left unharvested, can also absorb much of the waste we generate, especially our carbon emissions.

Ecological Footprint and biocapacity are measured in units of land area. Global Footprint Network divides land use into the following categories: cropland for the provision of plant-based food and fiber products; grazing land and cropland for animal products; fishing grounds (marine and inland) for fish products; forests for timber and other forest products; uptake land for the absorption of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity; and built-up areas for shelter and other infrastructure.

Together, we can secure a future where all people live well, within the means of one planet. Through education and advocacy campaigns, including personal Footprint calculators, we inspire and mobilize individuals to take action.

In connection with Earth Overshoot Day, we are inviting the public to help us #movethedate and pave the path out of ecological overshoot. Make a pledge and help us spread the word!

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