By Mathis Wackernagel, Ph.D., founder and President This blog is dedicated to a young, brilliant student. Back in 1995, she attended one of my lectures in Santiago de Chile about sustainability imperatives and the need “to reduce our Footprint.” I...
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Before we look forward to 2023, let’s look back at all that we achieved in 2022. We launched new tools to help universities and individuals explore paths to sustainability. The first ever online Footprint Calculator for Universities was launched as...
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photo credit: UN Biodiversity All five mechanisms that drive down biodiversity are symptoms of ecological overshoot (see also the adjacent blue box). Overshoot is caused by the human economy’s demand for more resources from nature than nature can regenerate. This...
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“We’ll know we’ve succeeded when we’ve made our work obsolete,” says Global Footprint Network’s new CEO. Read on as we take a deep dive into his thoughts on addressing humanity’s largest challenge. COP27 just ended on a disappointing note, as...
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Global Footprint Network cofounder Dr. Mathis Wackernagel was recognized for his contributions to sustainability with an honorary degree from the University of Stirling. As part of the commencement ceremony, on November 24th, 2022, he delivered the speech below to the University’s...
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At Global Footprint Network, we are scientists at heart. Scientists who love the outdoors. We’re elated to learn that two of our team members fall in the top 2% of cited scientists in their respective subfields, according to research from...
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By Mathis Wackernagel, Global Footprint Network A larger than life luminary –kind, gentle, clear, persistent, honest, caring, and utterly brilliant– left us living beings on this precious planet. Herman Daly also left a huge intellectual mark of highest relevance. Experiencing...
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By Paul Polman and Mathis Wackernagel, Ph.D. 2022 turns out to be 2020 on steroids: ongoing pandemic, international tensions and conflicts, energy and food crunches, and wilder climate patterns. Earth Overshoot Day fell on the earliest date ever, July 28th....
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Global Footprint Network contributes to a sustainability study of the region of Basel, Switzerland As a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the context for many economies has changed considerably. In addition, as the effects of...
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Humanity’s demand for biological resources has outpaced our planet’s ability to regenerate resources since the 1970s (1). The persistence of this overshoot has led to tensions. Shocks in supply chains associated with the global pandemic and the Russian invasion of...
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