Analysis of our office's impact on the planet

At this spring’s Building Energy conference, partner Bruce Coldham arranged a workshop with Jim Merkel on the methodology of Ecological Footprinting. Merkel’s book Radical Simplicity challenges citizens of the industrial nations to consider the resources required to sustain our lifestyles.

One of his tools in this challenge is the Ecological Footprint calculator, drawn from the work of William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel. The calculator uses a “footprint factor” by which we can convert all consumption to a common unit – the global acreage required to support it. The equation is simple: calculate what you consume, convert it to global acreage, and then compare that to what is available to us.

BRINGING IT HOME

We were curious, and decided as a firm to do our own Ecological Footprint, as an internal audit of our process.

According to year 2000 data, there are currently no more than 4.7 acres of bioproductive Earth per person from which we may each draw to create everything in our lives. And even that assumes that humans deserve domain over all productive lands, leaving nothing for the rest of our planet’s species.

In 2000, we used an average of 5.8 acres per person for human-related production . Which means we are overdrawing on the planet’s bio-productive resources by about 20%. We are outstripping our planet’s ability to regenerate the web of life that sustains us.

In the industrialized nations, our footprint is large. The average citizen of the U.S. requires 24 acres on which to grow her food, absorb her waste (including CO2), and manufacture her products. The average Canadian, 22 acres. In contrast, the average Indian uses only 2 acres, the average Chinese, 4. In an era when we are overdrawing on the Earth’s resource budget-literally living on “deficit consumption”- bringing our lifestyles into line with our global resource budget is an act of social justice.

ADDING IT UP

Following the example of Best Foot Forward, a British organization that calculates corporate footprints , we calculated our company’s footprint in Shelter, Transport, Stocks (Durable Goods), and Waste. (Goods and Services, which are calcuated for Personal Footprints, are shares of other business' footprints. For corporate footprinting, it creates endless dfficulties -and a grossly distorted accounting - to include it. Best Foot Forward didn't count it, so neither did we.)

The calculations are straightforward, based largely on objects' weights, estimated lifespans, and their Wackernagel/Rees "Footprint Factor". We tracked our heating/cooling, electric, and water consumption through monthly bills. We weighed our trash and our books. We found the weight of our computers in an online database. We estimated the lifecycle of our desks and our lamps and guessed the weight of the red wooden kangaroo on the peak of our porch.

WHAT NOW?

33.7 global acres for a business with 6 employees is 5+ acres per person, just for our lives at work. We'd need one and a half Earths to provide this volume of resources, which doesn't allow for any of our personal consumption. What are our big consumption categories?

Our Transport sector is the largest, at 55% (18.43 acres).
In our favor:
One employee walks to work;
Two employees carpool regularly;
The office does not accept work that would require air travel;
Our company cars are both hybrids.
Against us:
One employee has to travel nearly 100 miles a day to come to the office
(We have somewhat generously assumed the responsibility for all of this travel, though she began commuting here to complete her education and still goes to school 4 days/wk).
--The contribution of this commute alone is 8.55 acres, one quarter of our office footprint.

ACTION ITEM 1: Encourage local living.

Our long-distance commuter is already looking for a home closer to work and school.

RESULT: If our longest commute were reduced to be equal to our median commute, our footprint would be decreased by 6.22 acres (18% of our total).

Continued...

Click here to download the full report.

Email comments, suggestions, or your own results to footprint@coldhamandhartman.com