Case Stories
Business Applications
BC Hydro (Canada)
BC Hydro, Canada’s third largest electrical utility, is positioning itself to become "Footprint Neutral." Through an ambitious plan to control environmental impacts, the company is determined to provide no-net environmental impact for 20 years, during which time peak customer demand is expected to rise 25-40%. To monitor this project, Bruce Sampson, VP Sustainability at BC Hydro, needed a single indicator that would provide a quantitative measure of impacts and benefits, and that was intuitively simple for customers, staff, and decision makers to understand. The solution was the Ecological Footprint.
Global Footprint Network, in coordination with the International Institute for Sustainable Development, first conducted a baseline analysis of the total Footprint of current operations. The analysis included physical land area, infrastructure (dams, reservoirs and other existing power infrastructure), and operations/maintenance. In 2006, Global Footprint Network worked with BC Hydro to develop a Distribution Line Ecological Footprint calculator that allows BC Hydro to compare the Footprint of various design choices for new power lines.
Now a Global Footprint Network partner organization, BC Hydro is continuing to use the Ecological Footprint to track progress toward the company’s Footprint Neutral goal. BC Hydro has updated the original study and is building a Footprint tracker that will monitor the company's environmental performance year to year. Through their use of the Ecological Footprint tool, Bruce Sampson and BC Hydro can now focus on operational improvements to offset environmental impacts during the upcoming years of growth.
The GPT Group (Australia)
The GPT Group is a multinational and multi-billion dollar commercial real estate development company that owns and manages retail shopping malls in Australia. The company was interested in adopting a standardized method of measuring the environmental impact of its properties to meet operational sustainability targets of 20 percent impact reduction by 2009 for its retail division. Specifically, GPT wanted to be able to compare the impact of different building and interior design choices during remodeling.
To meet this need, Global Footprint Network worked with the company to develop a calculator that GPT’s tenants use as a required part of the leasing process. Using detailed raw materials data for different categories of stores (fashion retailers, restaurants/food vendors, etcetera), Global Footprint Network developed specific and easy-to-use questionnaires that calculate the Footprint implications of different design choices and encourages it's tenants to select low-Footprint elements for their shop.
The retail calculator developed for GPT provides a tangible, standardized metric by which the impact of different design possibilities can be compared. It translates commercial design elements into detailed accounts of material use and waste generation, and often identifies cost and impact saving options. The calculator allows GPT to identify target areas for major ecological performance improvement and has allowed the company to measure progress towards its sustainability goal in terms of Footprint reductions.
Read about the launch of the retail calculator
SITA (France)
SITA, a part of the SUEZ Group, is one of largest waste management companies in France. The waste collection business in the Europe Union has become highly competitive and companies like SITA are seeking new ways to provide greater customer satisfaction at lower cost . SITA was looking for a tool to use as an internal operations indicator that could also be used as a tool to communicate with stakeholders – from citizens to policymakers to businesses.
Global Footprint Network, in partnership with Angenius and Médiation & Environnement, created an interactive tool for calculating the Footprint of the waste collection portion of SITA’s operations. SITA uses the Footprint calculator to analyze their operation systems and determine how to lower their Footprint and increase their operations efficiency (and reduce costs, especially in waste transport). SITA also uses the Ecological Footprint as a conceptual tool to help them and their customers understand the ecological value of waste as an opportunity for creating Footprint savings and recovering resources. By creating and actively marketing their Footprint calculator (see an online version here, in French) and embracing the Footprint conceptual framework, SITA has successfully marketed themselves as green waste managers and can better compete for waste management bids in their industry.
Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Garden (Hong Kong)
The Kadoorie Farm is an Educational Center, Botanical Garden, sustainability advocacy group and biodiversity station in the central New Territories of Hong Kong. KFBG was seeking to fulfill their educational outreach mission and hired Global Footprint Network to calculate the Farm’s Ecological Footprint. Global Footprint Network delivered a report and provided an applications workshop on site, interpreting our results, explaining Footprint calculation methods for both individuals and larger operations, and discussing various strategies for reducing the Farm’s Footprint. The report helped Kadoorie Farm improve its own sustainability, and the organization subsequently co-produced with Global Footprint Network and WWF a report on the Ecological Footprint of the entire Asia-Pacific region.
National Footprint Applications:
Ten-in-Ten Progress to Date
Europe
We are in close conversation with the European Commission and the European Environment Agency (EEA) in Copenhagen, and are exploring ways to make the Ecological Footprint a key sustainability indicator for the European Union (EU). Last year, a group within Eurostat prepared a positive internal review of the EU’s National Footprint Accounts, and the European Commission selected the Ecological Footprint as a key biodiversity indicator for their 2010 biodiversity targets. Last fall, DG Environment initiated a study on how to use the Footprint.
Wales
Wales has adopted the Ecological Footprint as an indicator of sustainability. WWF has recently commissioned a report One Planet Wales: Transforming Wales for a prosperous future within our fair share of the Earth’s resources which highlights how Wales can transform its economy to reduce its Ecological Footprint.
Switzerland
The government of Switzerland has completed a scientific review of the Swiss National Footprint Accounts. The report was published by the Swiss Federal Office for Statistics, and the review was carried out by INFRAS, a leading Swiss policy research institute at the request of four Swiss government agencies. Swiss officials are now incorporating Ecological Footprint data into the nation’s Sustainability Development Plan.
Japan
The Japanese Ministry of the Environment has conducted several research collaborations with Global Footprint Network and other statistical groups, and has completed a review of Japan’s National Footprint Accounts research collaborations. The Ecological Footprint is now a part of Japan’s Basic Environmental Plan.
Belgium
Global Footprint Network has formed a research partnership with the government of Belgium via the Central Federal Planning Office and Belgium’s statistical office. The partnership will identify a research agenda for a full review of the Belgian National Footprint Accounts.
Canada
In Canada, the Ecological Footprint has been incorporated into the Canadian Index of Well-being (CIW). Global Footprint Network and WWF Canada released Canada's first Living Planet Report in 2007.
The United Kingdom
DEFRA, the UK’s Ministry of Environment, has conducted a second assessment of the Ecological Footprint in response to Former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s call to shift the UK towards a ‘One Planet Economy.’
Other National Reviews
Germany, Finland and Ireland are also conducting reviews of their national Ecological Footprints.
Local, Regional, and Municipal Applications
The Ecological Footprint is being used as a communication and performance measurement tool by over 100 cities around the world. What follows are some highlights of the Ecological Footprint informing sustainability policy and campaigns at the local government level.
Calgary (Canada)
The City of Calgary has launched an Ecological Footprint project with Global Footprint Network to take ecological impact into account as leaders develop and plan for the future of Canada's second-fastest growing city.
In 2005, the City of Calgary participated in an Ecological Footprint study that showed Calgary’s Footprint exceeding the national average by over 30 percent, at 9.86 global hectares per person. The study prompted the city council of Calgary to prioritize reducing Calgary’s Ecological Footprint, and develop an Ecological Footprint team to create a more sustainable city that works to protect the health and well-being of its citizens.
As a result, as city leaders make infrastructure and planning choices that will shape the way residents live for years to come, they are using the Ecological Footprint as an important tool in their decision-making. As a direct result of the Footprint project, officials decided to halt new development on green space for at least a year until they've developed a policy that takes the Footprint and long-term sustainability goals into account. Calgary has also become the first city in North America to power its public light rail transit system with 100 percent emissions free wind generated energy, through an initiative called Ride the Wind.
The city is working to spark awareness among residents of Calgary’s Ecological Footprint and raise discussion about what can be done to change it. It released the report Reducing the Ecological Footprint: A Calgary Approach describing Calgary’s efforts to lighten up and offering residents resources for individual action.
EPA Victoria (Australia)
The Environmental Protection Authority in Victoria, Australia is a partner of Global Footprint Network and actively uses the Ecological Footprint as an engagement and resource accounting tool. Highlights of their applications are described in a mini-report they produced for Footprint Forum 2006 in Siena, Italy and in more detail on their website.
London
The City of London used extensive Footprint analyses to determine target areas for Footprint reductions. The Ecological Footprint was assessed in terms of key impact areas: goods, services and waste management; food; direct energy consumption (except transport); personal mobility; provision of housing, and pollution abatement. This analysis was then used by local governments and business for further policy planning:
- London First and London Remade conducted a follow-up study to investigate how London’s public and private sector might work together to reduce London’s Ecological Footprint.
- The City of London used the analysis to develop an ‘agenda for change&rsquo, which sets out the key agenda areas in which action will need to be concentrated in order to make London a more sustainable city and offers proposed action items for Footprint reduction for business, public authorities and the central government.
- A sustainable policy strategy for the Mayor of London was developed based on high Footprint reduction potential areas indicated by the study.
Read more about London's Footprint
Read about City Limits London, a resource flow and Ecological Footprint analysis of Greater London.
Cardiff and other UK Regional Applications
In 2005, the city of Cardiff completed a comprehensive Footprint study and has since been using the Footprint in public sustainabilty outreach.
Many other cities and regions throughout the U.K. have since conducted Footprint Analyses. The Sustainable Consumption Group of the Stockholm Environment Institute at York has led a number of studies of cities and regions. Read more about the Footprint and regional sustainability in the U.K. here.
Marin, California
The Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA) used the Ecological Footprint to choose focus areas, set targets for reducing the county’s Footprint by 15 percent, and measure the success of an update to the Marin Countywide Plan, a legal document that guides the county’s conservation and development strategy. The Footprint analysis allowed policymakers to determine the extent to which the implementation of these programs and targets and actually reduce Marin’s pressure on ecosystems. The Footprint is also being used by the county and local NGOs as a public communications tool.
Read the Marin Footprint Report
Sonoma, California
Under a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency, Sustainable Sonoma County, a local NGO, used the Ecological Footprint as the foundation of a 2002 campaign. The county's Footprint campaign,“Time to Lighten Up”, inspired every city in the county to sign up for ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability's Climate Saver Initiative\, with a commitment to reduce their CO2 output by 20 percent.
In 2007, in an effort to bring Utah’s population growth and increasing Ecological Footprint into public conversation and policy, the Utah Population and Environment Coalition (UPEC) spearheaded the first effort to calculate the Ecological Footprint of a US state. With support from Global Footprint Network, UPEC prepared the Footprint study as part of their Utah Vital Signs project on sustainability indicators. The final report, Utah Vital Signs 2007: the Ecological Footprint of Utah, has provided a means for Utah inhabitants to understand the pressure they place on their own and the world’s biologically productive land and water areas. It has opened public dialogue on overshoot and how citizens, legislators, and planners can make better decisions for their and their state’s future. UPEC’s pioneering project has sparked interest in similar state-level projects around the country.