What they do
Global Footprint Network calculates Earth Overshoot Day (the date each year when humanity's demand on nature exceeds the planet's capacity to regenerate) and maintains the Ecological Footprint methodology used by governments, cities, and organizations to measure environmental impact. Their National Footprint Accounts track the ecological footprint and biocapacity of over 200 countries.
Why they matter
Earth Overshoot Day is one of the most effective communication tools in environmental science. The concept, that we are using 1.7 Earths worth of resources annually, makes ecological overshoot viscerally understandable. The underlying methodology provides the accounting framework that cities and nations use to track whether they are living within their ecological means. Without this kind of accounting, sustainability remains an abstract aspiration rather than a measurable goal.
How to support
Calculate your personal Ecological Footprint on their website. Use the National Footprint Accounts data for research and education. Advocate for your city or country to adopt Ecological Footprint accounting in planning.
Key project to explore
Earth Overshoot Day campaigns reach hundreds of millions of people annually, translating complex ecological accounting into a single, intuitive metric that communicates the scale of global resource overshoot.