Photo by World Atlas.

An ecological footprint measures the pressure our way of life puts on the environment by calculating the amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply the resources we use and absorb the waste we produce, especially carbon emissions.

Simply put, it asks: “What portion of the Earth’s productive capacity is needed to support the way I live?”

Your ecological footprint is influenced by many everyday choices, including:

• How much energy you use at home
• How often you drive or fly
• What kind of food you eat
• How many products you buy
• How much waste you generate
• The size and efficiency of your home
• The energy sources used to power your lifestyle

For instance, a person who drives long distances each day, travels by air often, follows a diet that is highly resource-consuming, and purchases a large number of new products generally has a bigger ecological footprint than another person who uses public transport, consumes less, wastes less food, and depends more on renewable energy.

This idea also applies to companies, cities, and countries.

A company can examine the impact of its energy use, supply chain, transportation, materials, packaging, and waste. Likewise, a city can assess the amount of land, energy, food, and infrastructure needed to support its population.

A key idea that lies at the heart of the ecological footprint is that environmental impact involves more than just pollution.

It also concerns the demand for resources.

We live on a planet with a limited amount of productive land, water, forests, and ecosystems. When our total demand increases faster than nature can renew those resources, the system becomes increasingly difficult to sustain.

It doesn’t mean that everybody has to make complete changes to their way of life all at once. It does mean that people should realize many of the decisions they make every day have an environmental impact, even if that impact isn’t obvious at the time. The first step in reducing your ecological footprint is understanding its origins.