WWF Environmental Footprint Calculator

An ecological footprint measures how much of Earth's biological capacity (biocapacity) is required to produce the resources a person consumes and absorb the waste they generate. It is expressed in global hectares (gha). The global average biocapacity available per person is about 1.6 gha, but humanity currently uses around 2.7 gha per person on average.

If everyone on the planet lived the same lifestyle as you, the 'Earths needed' figure shows how many planet Earths would be required to sustain that demand. A value above 1.0 means humanity would be using nature faster than it can regenerate — this is called ecological overshoot. Currently, humanity collectively needs about 1.7 Earths.

Global hectares (gha) are a standardised unit that accounts for Earth's biological productivity. One gha represents one hectare of land or water with world-average productivity. Global biocapacity is approximately 1.6 gha per person — the share of Earth's productive area available to each person if divided equally.

Diet and air travel typically have the largest individual impacts. Eating a plant-based diet, flying less, switching to renewable energy, and driving less (or using an electric vehicle) are among the most effective ways to reduce your ecological footprint significantly.

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date in the calendar year when humanity has used more from nature than the planet can renew in the entire year. In 2023, Earth Overshoot Day fell on August 2nd. Your personal overshoot day shows the equivalent date at which you would have exhausted your fair share of Earth's biocapacity for the year.

WWF's approach follows the Global Footprint Network methodology, incorporating land-use categories including cropland, grazing land, forest land, fishing grounds, built-up land, and carbon land. It considers both direct consumption (energy, food, travel) and embedded resource use in goods and services, giving a comprehensive picture of your environmental impact.

Key actions include shifting to a plant-rich diet, reducing or eliminating air travel, switching to renewable electricity, insulating your home, buying fewer new goods (especially electronics), choosing public transport or cycling, and reducing food waste. Even modest changes across multiple categories can meaningfully lower your total footprint.

No — they overlap but are not the same. Your carbon footprint measures only greenhouse gas emissions, expressed in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. Your ecological footprint is broader, covering all the biological resources and land required to support your lifestyle, including food production, timber, and the land needed to absorb carbon emissions. The carbon component is one part of the total ecological footprint.