What is Ecological and Carbon Footprint?

Can humanity preserve habitats while nature’s basic resources are being depleted? The resources our planet offers us are becoming increasingly insufficient to meet the demands of a growing population. The way to allocate a sustainable habitat for all species and protect the natural resources we need is to reduce our ecological and carbon footprint. These concepts, which reveal how the natural resources necessary for life are consumed, also draw a perspective on whether future generations will have access to sufficient resources.

Ecological Footprint

With the industrialization of societies, consumption and production processes gained a different dimension, the need for food increased day by day due to the growing population, and the acceleration of urbanization and technological revolutions paved the way for the uncontrolled use of natural resources. As a result, the natural balance began to suffer.

The concept of ecological footprint comes into play at this point and reveals the damage to the natural balance in general. It also helps to identify the resources that need to be restored to the ecosystem. Ecological footprint, which is accepted as a basic sustainability concept, is a method that calculates the ecosystem balances that have been disrupted by human activities and determines the amount that should be restored to the ecosystem.

The concept of ecological footprint was first introduced in the early 1990s by ecologist William Rees and sustainability advocate Mathis Wackernagel. With this concept, created under the umbrella of the University of British Columbia, it is possible to calculate how much of the resources we consume. In this way, a road map on how natural resources can be used in the face of the growing world population can be prepared and a kind of future projection can be drawn.

Why Does the Ecological Footprint Increase?

Many factors are effective in increasing the ecological footprint. In this context, some of the factors that cause an increase in the ecological footprint are as follows:

• Increase in energy consumption due to industrialization, changes in minimum living conditions and increased demands,
• Misuse of water and spraying methods in agriculture,
• Increased greenhouse gas emissions due to increased personal vehicles,
• The globalization of consumer culture, the increase in disposable products and the rapid change in fashion,
• Increase in the amount of waste due to population and lack of emphasis on recycling,
• Lack of attention to prevent wastage in water consumption in personal living spaces and industry,
• Insufficient utilization of renewable energy sources in cooling and heating methods.

How to Reduce Ecological Footprint?

The basic step to reduce the ecological footprint is to consume no more than nature provides for the population. Although the main factors such as considering ecological factors in city planning are in the hands of decision-makers, the following steps can be taken individually and institutionally to reduce the ecological footprint:

• Develop ecological awareness and protect biodiversity,
• Abandoning fossil energy sources and turning to renewable energy sources,
• Protecting clean water areas,
• Use public transportation as much as possible,
• Choose sustainable rather than disposable products,
• Minimizing waste, gaining recycling awareness, and consuming products that are easy to recycle in nature.

Carbon Footprint

Everyone causes the emission of greenhouse gases through various activities such as purchasing products, heating, transportation, and energy consumption. The carbon footprint, one of the components of the ecological footprint, is a concept developed in the mid-2000s that refers to the damage caused to the environment by various emission activities of the human population. It aims to measure the damage left by human activities in nature in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Carbon footprint, one of the main causes of global warming, is divided into primary (direct) and secondary (indirect):

• Primary (Direct) Carbon Footprint: Refers to the measure of CO2 emissions caused by fossil fuel consumption. Energy consumption in transportation and at home is included in this area. For example, driving a fossil fuel-powered vehicle during the day is a factor that increases the carbon footprint.

• Secondary (Indirect) Carbon Footprint: It shows the amount of carbon left in the atmosphere at all stages from production to recycling of products used by the population, especially plastics.

Why Does Carbon Footprint Increase?

Although the carbon footprint increases due to many factors related to the consumption and activities of the population, the general factors can be listed as follows:

• Climate change due to lack of protection of green areas and environmental pollution,
• Increasing use of private cars,
• Fossil fuels used in households and electricity consumed,
• Intensive air travel,
• Consumption of processed foods,
• Waste is composed of materials that are difficult to transform from nature,
• Lack of recycling awareness,
• Consumption more than needed.

How to Reduce Carbon Footprint?

The amount of carbon accumulated in the atmosphere can be reduced with some measures taken on both individual and corporate basis. Some of the steps to be taken in this context are as follows:

• Ensuring labor and energy efficiency in production sites and thermal insulation in homes,
• Adoption of effective waste management at institutional level,
• Consume all resources, especially water and electricity, economically in all areas,
• Preference for energy-saving products and renewable energy sources,
• Raising awareness about recycling,
• Choosing products that are biodegradable or easier to recycle when meeting requirements,
• Reducing the use of individual vehicles and making use of alternative means of transportation such as public transport and bicycles,
• Since airplanes are the means of transportation that increase the carbon footprint the most, alternative means of transportation should be considered, if possible,
• Preference for electric or hybrid products instead of fossil fuel consuming products,
• Protecting green areas as trees play a balancing role in carbon emissions.

It is critically important to make the right calculation and reporting while creating a strategy to reduce the carbon footprint in the corporate sense. You can take advantage of our user-friendly QuickCarbon software to calculate your company’s carbon footprint. You can report your carbon footprint in accordance with ISO 14064-1: 2018 standard and GHG Protocol and download this report in Turkish and English with a single click. You can contact us immediately to benefit from our service or to request a demo.