What is your ecological footprint?

The multi-award winning Mathis Wackernagel, my guest today on Inside Ideas, can help you answer that question. Mathis co-created the Ecological Footprint in the early 1990s with his Ph.D. advisor Prof. Rees at the University of British Columbia. Now he is President of the Global Footprint Network which he founded in 2003 with Susan Burns. Together with its partners, Global Footprint Network focuses on bringing about a sustainable economy in which all can thrive within the means of our one planet.

“Humans use as much ecological resources as if we lived on 1.6 Earths,” the Networks website states. “The Ecological Footprint is the only metric that compares the resource demand of individuals, governments, and businesses against Earth’s capacity for biological regeneration.”

Since 2003 this international think-tank has engaged with more than 50 nations, 30 cities, and 70 global partners to deliver scientific insights for policy and investment decisions. With its annual Earth Overshoot Day, it annually reaches over 4 billion media impressions.

Mathis’ awards include the 2018 World Sustainability Award, the 2015 IAIA Global Environment Award, the 2012 Blue Planet Prize, the 2012 Binding-Prize for Nature Conservation, the 2012 Kenneth E. Boulding Memorial Award, the 2011 Zayed International Prize for the Environment, an honorary doctorate from the University of Berne, and the 2007 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.

I am delighted to have Mathis on the show to talk about how we #MoveTheDate and push back #EarthOvershootDay.

Join me again Thursday for what will be a landmark moment for the show when we broadcast our 100th episode.