UBA Footprint

Scientific assessment and evaluation of the indicator “Ecological Footprint”

On the one hand, the project evaluated the quality of primary data and coefficients (equivalence and yield factors) used in the German National Footprint Accounts. Potential alternative data sets from national German statistics were examined and evaluated.

On the other hand, the study also dealt with methodological strengths and weaknesses, elaborating on issues such as the inclusion or exclusion of certain environmental categories, underlying assumptions on land use and land use change, the potential to analyse global impacts of national consumption patterns, and the inclusion of energy/CO2 land areas.

Finally, key issues with regard to the interpretability of the indicator were discussed, such as the use of the unit “global hectare” and the interpretation of the terms of “ecological surplus” versus “ecological deficit”.

The project delivered recommendations about how the identified weaknesses could be overcome and which national data sources could improve the National Footprint Accounts for Germany.

Download the final report in English here

Download the final report in German here