THE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

A TOOL FOR NAVIGATING TOUGH DECISIONS IN A

SEVERLY RESOURCE CONSTRAINED WORLD

Dr. Mathis Wackernagel

AGS, Zurich, January 29, 2009

Ecological Creditors and Ecological Debtors
The Ecological Footprint

CARBON footprint
Humanity’s Ecological Footprint (1961 – 2005)
• Establish a full branch of Global Footprint
Network in Switzerland, sharing the
premises of SSI

• House standards process of Global

Footprint Network in the Swiss office
(www.footprintstandards.org) – by 2010

• Research focus: consequences of global

resource constraints for the competitiveness
of Switzerland
Business as Usual Scenario and Ecological Debt
Billion 2003 global hectares

30

10
Long-term waste
Why
UAE
?
Building lasting capital?
One Planet Living
Calgary
THE BOTTOMLINE
In a severely resource
constrained world (“peak
everything”), we cannot be
competitive with expanding
ecological deficits.
It is a matter of core strategy,
not “Sunday school”.

Winning together
Volkswagen Jetta

Toyota Prius Gasoline

Biocapacity
comparison 2.1 global hectares

Estimated Footprint of Volkswagen Jetta and Toyota Prius

based on the average U.S. mileage of 12,500 miles or
20,000 km / yr (based on EPA 2006 fuel mileage rating
system)
(source Jorgen Vos)