{summary #bullet -1}
What is the ecological footprint?
The ecological footprint, a term often confused with the carbon footprint, is an indicator that serves to measure the need for natural resources on the part of man with respect to the real capacity of the Earth to answer this question.
In other words, it is an estimate of the amount of land, water and other biological materials, necessary to produce all the resources consumed by an individual or community.
The objective of measure the ecological footprint is to help people and organizations better understand the environmental impact of their activities and take steps to reduce it.
Usually the calculation is carried out according to variable starting factors, which depend on the categories that represent the demand: they can be individuals, families, portions of the population, states and companies. But what actually differentiates the ecological footprint from carbon footprint?
{summary #bullet -2}
Ecological footprint and carbon footprint: the differences
The ecological footprint represents the quantity of natural resources necessary to support our lifestyle (often unsustainable) considering various factors, such as energy consumption, waste production and the amount of resources consumed.
It is usually expressed in global hectares (gha) and represents the land and/or sea surface necessary to produce the resources used and to absorb the waste emissions produced by a given group of people or by a specific economic activity.
The carbon footprint, on the other hand, focuses exclusively on CO₂ emissions and other greenhouse gases. It is measured in tons of CO2 equivalent (tCO2eq) and represents the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere due to a specific economic activity or a group of people.
The ecological footprint is NOT the measure of greenhouse gases produced by an activity, but it represents a broader environmental impact indicator of human activities, which takes into account various factors.
{summary #bullet -3}
How to calculate the ecological footprint: what are the main indicators and phases
The calculation of the ecological footprint It is a complex process that involves the evaluation of different factors, such as:
- energy consumption;
- the production of waste;
- the amount of resources consumed.
There are different methodologies used for calculation of the ecological footprint, but in general the main phases are the following:
- Identify the categories of consumption that you want to analyze, such as energy consumption, the production of waste or the amount of food consumed;
- Collect a significant amount of data relating to the categories identified. For example, to evaluate energy consumption, energy bills from recent months could be collected;
- The data collected are Converted from common measurement units, such as liters of water or kilograms of CO2, to global hectares gha;
- sum the converted data for each category of consumption to obtain the total ecological footprint.
{summary #bullet -4}
Why calculate the ecological footprint?
The calculation of the ecological footprint It serves evaluate the environmental impact of human activities and to better understand the use of natural resources. The reasons for calculating the ecological footprint may be different:
- sensitize people on the importance of reducing their impact on the environment and promoting more sustainable behavior;
- plan and better manage their business activities, taking measures to reduce environmental impact and increase resource efficiency;
- confront the levels of environmental impact between different activities or countries, helping to identify areas where greater actions are needed to reduce environmental impact;
- can also be used as monitoring tool to verify the effectiveness of the actions taken to reduce environmental impact.
In summary, the calculation of the ecological footprint is an important tool for assessing environmental impact, which can help promote more sustainable behavior and better manage natural resources.
At Up2You we specialize in calculating the carbon footprint of organizations, products and events. Click the button below and find out how we can help you.
{summary #bullet -5}
How to reduce the ecological footprint in the company: 5 practical tips
Once you are aware of what the ecological footprint is and what to do to measure it, it is possible to implement some measures to reduce it. Below are 5 useful tips to reduce the ecological footprint in the company.
- Optimize energy consumption: reduce waste by adopting efficient solutions such as LED lighting and intelligent heating/cooling systems.
- Promoting sustainable mobility: encourages the use of ecological transport such as bicycles, car-sharing or electric vehicles for staff.
- Managing waste in a conscious way: introduce policies for the reduction, reuse and recycling of materials to minimize business waste.
- Choosing sustainable suppliers: collaborates with partners that adopt environmentally friendly practices and that offer environmentally friendly products and services.
- Reduce paper use: digitize business processes to reduce paper consumption and promote sustainability even in the office.
By taking these simple steps, your company will be able to contribute concretely to reduce its ecological footprint, improving the overall sustainability of operations.
{summary #bullet -6}
Ecological footprint or carbon footprint: what companies are interested in today
As we have seen, theecological footprint it is very useful for realizing at 360° how much our activities impact on the environment, taking into consideration various factors.
However, precisely because of the climate emergency linked to human action, international attention and objectives are focused on limiting the increase in temperatures and therefore on greenhouse gas emissions.
For this reason, today, what companies really need is to know how do you calculate the carbon footprint, so that you can start a reduction process and have access to all the advantages that are obtained by reaching the Carbon Neutrality, such as:
- Anticipate changes already in place, given that environmental regulations, such as CSRD, are taking on an increasingly central role at national and international levels;
- improve the reputation of your brand, showing the company's commitment to the planet and creating a positive echo among customers, partners and employees;
- attract new customers, who give increasing importance to environmental issues, even when it comes to buying a particular product or service;
- attract new investments, since environmental impact is becoming a reference criterion in evaluating which company to direct funding and investments to.
