Global Footprint Network Foundation

Global Footprint Network is an international sustainability organisation dedicated to creating a world where all can thrive within the Earth’s means. This includes responding to climate change, biodiversity decline, and unmet human needs. Since 2003 we’ve engaged with more than 30 cities, 50 countries, and 70 global partners to improve their resource security by delivering scientific insights relevant for high-impact policy and investment decisions.

It has also run international campaigns with Earth Overshoot Day reaching typically 7 billion media impressions. The work draws on the Ecological Footprint concept – co-created by Global Footprint Network’s Founder and President Mathis Wackernagel, and leading also to the ‘carbon footprint’. Footprint accounting keeps track of all competing human demands on the planet’s ecosystems in one single, easy-to-understand, scalable metrics. Global Footprint Network started in 2003 to address an overarching problem: our economies take resources from the future to pay for the present. Ultimately these are self-destructive “pyramid” or “Ponzi” schemes. As a result, humanity’s demand on nature now exceeds what Earth can replenish, eroding our natural capital and compromising future resource regeneration.

Against this context, the Network focuses on changing decision making towards creating a world where all can thrive within the means of our planet (“one-planet prosperity”). The challenge is to help decision-makers recognize that decisions in sync with our planet’s physical reality produce better outcomes for themselves (and the world).Global Footprint Network’s offering is built on a comprehensive resource-accounting approach which allows countries, cities, and companies to assess how much demand they put on nature against how much Earth’s ecosystems, or those of their own territory, can regenerate. With this Global Footprint Network offers the prime tool to determine how regenerative economies are.Results show how resource deficits.

Mission

Through its various policies and awareness raising, Europe and the EU aims to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent and a climate and resource-resilient society. Alongside reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it is also taking action to adapt to the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. With its “green deal”, ambitious policies and legislation to protect natural habitats are aligned with Global Footprint Network’s focus, including to keep air and water clean, ensure proper waste disposal, advance circular economies, and help businesses move toward a sustainable economy.

Geographic Focus

Worldwide

Programme Areas

Education
Environment/Climate
Food, Agriculture & Nutrition
Sciences & Research
Socio-economic Development, Poverty