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Our impact
There is a reasonable saying that holds: “you cannot manage what you do not measure”. WWF uses an indicator called the Ecological Footprint to measure the impact of humanity on the environment.
The Ecological Footprint refers to the amount of productive land required to sustain a person. Consumption of energy, water, food, fibers and building materials all have an impact on the environment which could be translated into an equivalent amount of land required by nature to manufacture it.
Combined with the Living Planet Index – a state-of-nature indicator – the Ecological Footprint gives the clearest, high-level evidence of the unsustainable pattern that the world is following: the rising impact on declining resources. It is not an academic measure but has real implications in terms of the natural limits of the world in which we live.
The Ecological Footprint is useful as a description of one of the three “bottom-lines” that is often referred to in accounting for sustainability. Our impact on nature and the welfare of people should inform our economic decisions. The fastest-growing component of the human footprint today, is our fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
The Ecological Footprint refers to the amount of productive land required to sustain a person. Consumption of energy, water, food, fibers and building materials all have an impact on the environment which could be translated into an equivalent amount of land required by nature to manufacture it.
Combined with the Living Planet Index – a state-of-nature indicator – the Ecological Footprint gives the clearest, high-level evidence of the unsustainable pattern that the world is following: the rising impact on declining resources. It is not an academic measure but has real implications in terms of the natural limits of the world in which we live.
The Ecological Footprint is useful as a description of one of the three “bottom-lines” that is often referred to in accounting for sustainability. Our impact on nature and the welfare of people should inform our economic decisions. The fastest-growing component of the human footprint today, is our fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.