Dear friends,

My professional highlights for 2023 year were expanding our relationship with Slovenia, through our joint launch of Earth Overshoot Day in Ljubljana, and the intriguing work we were able to complete for the Scottish Government. Seeing our work play out on the ground, together with partners, in this case governments, was rewarding.

In the case of Slovenia, the high-level event on the 2023 Earth Overshoot Day, which fell on August 1, demonstrated Slovenia’s strong environmental stewardship. At the event, Slovenia’s Environment Minister Bojan Kumer, recognized the Ecological Footprint as a pivotal metric for driving environmental action, guiding the country’s development trajectory, and serving as a compass for regional development planning. He even said: “Earth Overshoot Day is a line we cross far too early, underscoring the unsustainable course of our development. However, it is not a cause for despair but a call for action.”

I was also taken by the clarity of the President of the Republic of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar, who said “We are now deciding what kind of country we want to live in for the next 20 or 30 years.”

The work we produced for the Scottish Government pushed in a similar direction.

The report then discusses the need for a systemic approach to managing nature’s budget, given we live now in, what many but the geologists call, the ‘Anthropocene’. To minimize impacts abroad, the report highlights the importance of reducing overall demand. It also emphasizes the importance of reducing overall demand in ways that make Scotland better off, as otherwise efforts will backfire. Therefore, for effective adoption of such measures and avoiding policy conflicts, it suggests prioritizing interventions that simultaneously advance wider societal goals such as long-term prosperity.

said , calling for action to ensure that Slovenia becomes “a modern, green and technologically innovative country in the coming decades; a country which young people will no longer wish to leave, but one where they will be able to live and work in a safe, attractive and creative home environment.”

…

2022 will be remembered not just for its severe climatic changes and unprecedented global challenges, but also for the indomitable spirit of humanity that sought to navigate through these adversities. In line with our unwavering commitment to ensure that every individual flourishes within the limits of our one planet, we have championed vital conversations and offered credible, actionable insights to guide global decision-making processes.

In 2023, our team was also busy supporting the European Environment Agency (EEA) through its European Topic Centre on Biodiversity and Ecosystems (ETC BE) initiative. Guided by our lead partner, the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, we explored together social and economic driver against biodiversity, a project that hopefully will soon be able to share its insights as the publications are completed.

In observance of Earth Overshoot Day, we took the opportunity to spotlight pioneering companies with a circular economy ethos that concurrently work towards reducing overshoot. Expanding such companies, means global overshoot goes down. The progressive endeavors of cities, companies, and countries that rise to this challenge will not only shape their resilience but will also pave the way for a foreseeable future marked by climate adaptation and sustainable resource management.

The European Union’s endorsement of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which mandates an expanded bracket of corporations to furnish reporting documentation, underscores the indispensable need for Global Footprint Network’s metrics. Drawing from my decade-long experience collaborating with EU legislators on non-financial corporate reporting, our objective is to enable institutions to drive significant change and continuously track their progress.

As we commemorated 50 years of the global environment agenda and a concurrent 50 years of overshoot, significant strides were made. Notably, at the UN Biodiversity Conference COP 15 held in December 2022, a commendable proposition was put forth: “halving the footprint of production and consumption by 2030.” Though this ambitious vision did not find its way into the final texts of the conference, it was heartening to witness the acknowledgment of the Ecological Footprint in multiple targets of the “monitoring framework” for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The groundswell of enthusiasm for sustainability is palpable, and I am resolutely committed to ensuring that Global Footprint Network remains at the forefront, leading and shaping these vital global conversations and actions.

In conclusion, our heartfelt gratitude goes out to our magnanimous donors. Your faith and contributions are the pillars upon which we continue our quest to sculpt a world where everyone can prosper within our planet’s generous yet finite resources.

With with my warmest wishes and thanks for your ongoing support,

We assessed the impact that a company’s goods and services have on the global Ecological Footprint.

We calculated that waste-management company Interzero shrinks humanity’s Ecological Footprint by 28 global square meters for each dollar of value it adds to the economy. In comparison, the global economy adds, on average, 2.6 global square meters of Footprint for every dollar generated by the world economy per year.

We grew our involvement with government agencies.

The Ecological Footprint was included as an impact indicator for monitoring the 2030GreenerMED Agenda’s Thematic Axis 1, which “support[s] the transition to a green, circular and socially inclusive economy based on sustainable consumption and production practices and nature-based solutions”. The Agenda was designed to contribute to achieving the Environmental SDGs in the Mediterranean.

We launched a new tool to help the Mediterranean region explore paths to sustainability.

As part of the Foodnected project, the interactive Food Footprint Platform was launched at the Terra Madre event in Turin, Italy. Visitors to our educational exhibition on Food Systems Sustainability learned about how their food choices impact Earth’s regeneration.

5 million people used our Footprint Calculator in 2023.

Calculator Testimonials

Earth Overshoot Day
By the Numbers

Earth Overshoot Day
In the News

Data User Testimonials

The first ever online Footprint Calculator for Universities was launched as part of the EUSTEPs (Enhancing Universities’ Sustainability TEaching and Practices) project. The project aimed to introduce a broader and holistic approach involving University administrative staff together with students, educators, and management bodies to embrace a more sustainable university. The new Calculator is just one product of four European universities and Global Footprint Network working together to deliver tools designed to enhance sustainability teaching and practices in higher education. 108 universities from 22 countries have already used the Calculator this year to begin designing their sustainability strategy and policies.

We received recognition from noteworthy entities:

• Dr. Mathis Wackernagel recognized for his contributions to sustainability with an honorary degree from the University of Stirling
• Global Footprint Network’s co-founder Mathis Wackernagel, Ph.D., and Director of Mediterranean and MENA Regions Alessandro Galli, Ph.D., were among the top 2% of cited scientists, according to research from Stanford University.
• Chief Science Officer David Lin and Mathis Wackernagel presented at the world-famous hybrid event RE:WIRED Green. They discussed which businesses will be valuable in the predictable future of climate change and resource constraints. Watch the event recording.

Thank you for your support!

footprintnetwork.org — is Global Footprint Network’s main site and offers all the background on the Ecological Footprint and its applications

data.footprintnetwork.org — provides all key results for the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts on an open data platform

footprintcalculator.org — allows individuals to estimate their own Footprint and their personal Overshoot Date.  Is the entry point to the #MoveTheDate map

overshoot.footprintnetwork.org — hosts Earth Overshoot Day and features solutions to #MoveTheDate

FoDaFo.org – Footprint Data Foundation is the newly established, independent organization to host the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts. The intent is also to have this data organization be embraced by an alliance of international institutions, as explained at OnePlanetAlliance.org.