Definition of Ecological Footprint

There are many steps in calculating Ecological Footprint. Below is an outline of how to Calculate Ecological Footprint.

Step 1: Calculate the average person’s annual consumption of a particular item

To calculate the annual consumption of a person within a population, look for aggregate data or statistical information for the entire region. Divide the total consumption by the population size. Alternatively you can try estimating the annual consumption by hand but it is much more time consuming and you are likely to miss some. You need to include anything consumed or used such as food, water, energy, forest products, etc. However, if you use the national statistics and census, remember to adjust for imports and exports. The unit of the average annual consumption (denoted by C in economics) is kg per capita.

Step 2: Calculate the land area for the production of each major consumption item

Since Ecological Footprinting is about calculating land and natural resources used, the next step is to estimate the land area per capita used or needed for the production of each major consumption item. To calculate this, divide average annual consumption of that item (from the mathematical equation above) by its average annual productivity or yield. The unit of the land needed to product item i is hectare per capita or ha/capita.

Each person, of course, consumes and uses many natural resources so the number of “i” that needs to be calculated is very large. However, you can simplify the process of calculating Ecological Footprint by categorizing ‘i’ in major categories that have statistical information provided by national surveys or governmental data such as dividing all the different consumption categories into food, housing, transportation, consumer goods and services.