Ecological Footprint &

Life Cycle Analysis

Ecological Footprint

 It represents the amount

of biologically productive
land and sea area needed:
 to regenerate the resources a
human population
consumes and
 to absorb and render
harmless the corresponding
waste .
Biocapacity

 Biocapacity refers to the

capacity of a given
biologically productive
area to generate an on-
going supply of
renewable resources and
to absorb its spillover
wastes.
 Unsustainability occurs if
the area’s ecological
footprint exceeds its
biocapacity.
 Biocapacity

In 2008 there were 12 billion hectares of

biologically productive land and water available
and 6.7 billion people on the planet.[1] This is an
average of 1,8 global hectares (ha) per person.

Biocapacity:

productive land & water

Number of People
 Results:

Fair Earth Share per capita = 1.8 ha.

The average ecological footprint of a Belgian = 8 ha.
So if everybody would live as a Belgian, we would need
4 planets earth...
 Non-generation of biocapacity:

Year of Peak Fish Harvest Pre-peak

Harvest peak
Post-peak

Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and Sea Around Us project

 Non-generation of biocapacity:

Year of Peak Fish Harvest Pre-peak

Harvest peak
Post-peak

Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and Sea Around Us project

 Earth Overshoot Day

= the calendar date in which the total resources

consumed by humanity will exceed the capacity for
the Earth to generate those resources that year.

[worldbiocapacity / worldEcologicalFootprint] x 365

= Earth Overshoot Day

⇨overshootday is each year earlier:

19/12/1987 - 21/11/1995 - 1/8/2018

⇨1,4 earths needed to cover the needs of our planet

Earth Overshoot Day 2020
Earth Overshoot Day 2022

28

2
Earth Overshoot Day
21:42
 Ecological footprint and
biocapacity: factors that cause overshoot

21:42
 Human Development Index is a UN comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy,
education and standards of living for countries worldwide.
 Within the blue square are these countries which comply to the UN living standards
and who reach these standards within an acceptable ecological footprint. 21:42
 Ecological Footprint

 Calculate your own ecological footprint:

 https://www.footprintcalculator.org/
Life Cycle Analysis
 Life Cycle Analysis

A life cycle assessment (LCA, also

known as life cycle analysis,
ecobalance, and cradle-to-grave
analysis) is a technique to assess
environmental impacts associated
with all the stages of a product's life
from-cradle-to-grave (i.e., from raw
material extraction through
materials processing, manufacture,
distribution, use, repair and
maintenance, and disposal or
recycling).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0ucT1KRiO4
LCA
21:42
 Life Cycle Analysis: cases

 Mobile Phone
 Coffee Machine
 your product..
Newspaper
 LCA Flow diagram coffee machine

7.3 kg 1 kg 0.1 kg 0.3 kg 0.4 kg

coffee paper poly- aluminium sheet steel glas
bean styrene

roasting filter pro- injection extrusion stamping forming

duction moulding forming

assembly
+ transport

packaging 375 kWh

electricity
White boxes are not
use included in
water
assessment/inventory

disposal of disposal in
filters + coffee municipal
in org. waste waste
Exercise LCA Hamburger