Ecological
Footprint
Analysis
The North American lifestyle is unsustainable in its current form, but it is difficult to
grasp or quantify the degree of our impact on the world. An ecological footprint is a measure
of the water and biologically productive land area needed to assimilate the emissions from and
resources consumed by a nation, community, or a household.
Ecological Footprint Assessment has proven to be a powerful educational and decision-making tool.
With it, decision makers can decipher which aspects of our lifestyles are most damaging and which
changes will result in greatest positive outcome.
We use the Ecological Footprint Assessment as a cursory or streamlined Life Cycle Assessment
for quick decision-making, or to simplify complex LCA results into a single measure of
sustainability to assist in communication or interpretation.