The office is independent of, but funded by the ACT Government Parliament of Youth on Sustainability Information Session ACT Ecological Footprint as an indicator of sustainability Office of the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, ACT Dr Aileen Power Senior Manager, OCSE Ph:

The office is independent of, but funded by the ACT Government Background ACT ecological footprint (EF) report produced about every four years since 1998 Included with ACT State of Environment Reports amount of land and water required to support our use of resources and dispose of our wastes relative consumption of global resources and extent of human impact on the earth link between lifestyles and environmental impacts expressed in ‘global hectares’ 2

The office is independent of, but funded by the ACT Government Some comparisons Average per person ecological footprint measures: – 2007 World EF gha - (1.5 Earths) – 2007 Australian EF gha* – ACT EF gha ACT footprint – increased 8% in 5 years since 2004 Report – nearly 25% in 10 year period since 1998 Report – 13% above the Australian average – nearly 3.5 times the global average – Canberrans used 14 times the land area of the ACT to support our lifestyles *Global Footprint Network 3

The office is independent of, but funded by the ACT Government ACT Per capita ecological footprint 1999, 2004 and

The office is independent of, but funded by the ACT Government ACT Ecological footprint 1999, 2004,2009 consumption by category 5

The office is independent of, but funded by the ACT Government ACT per-capita Ecological Footprint Top 25 commodities 6

The office is independent of, but funded by the ACT Government ACT Ecological Footprint update coming early 2016 new ACT Ecological Footprint Report based on data companion document to 2015 ACT State of Environment Report slight reduction in size of our footprint from 9.2 gha to 8.9 gha reduction of about 3% since the report overall consumption levels continue to rise in the ACT our ecological footprint remains about 9% higher than the Australian average 7

The office is independent of, but funded by the ACT Government Taking action to reduce our footprint Individual, behavioural level, where possible: Repair, reuse or borrow and re-purpose items Consider consumption choices including food Buy quality, efficient goods that will last Invest in experiences rather than goods choose renewable energy Increase the energy efficiency of your home and appliances Government policy, business and community-wide change: Transforming our economies to lower our overall resource use Improving the efficiency and sources of our energy Pursuing further regional opportunities to extend the production of renewable energy Supporting business initiatives towards an expanded ‘green economy’ Protecting and enhancing our natural environment 8

The office is independent of, but funded by the ACT Government References Dey, C The Ecological Footprint of the population of the ACT. Integrated Sustainability Analysis, University of Sydney, Sydney footprintshttp:// footprints Global Footprint Network Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission, ACT Licensed utilities compliance and performance report 2007–08 content/uploads/2013/03/Compliance_and_Performance_Report_ _Web.pdf content/uploads/2013/03/Compliance_and_Performance_Report_ _Web.pdf Australian Bureau of Statistics Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia (ABS ) 3C78ABD3CA E1/$File/65230_ pdf 3C78ABD3CA E1/$File/65230_ pdf 9

The office is independent of, but funded by the ACT Government Other OCSE resources Canberra’s Ecological Footprint: what does it mean? Dr Joy Murray and Dr Chris Dey e/0007/590929/Canberras_Ecological_Footprint_.pdf Fact Sheets (including one on the Ecological footprint) me/fact_sheets Buying choices for a more sustainable Canberra Dr Sarah Ryan, CES_Sept12.pdf Exploring individual values and attitudes for a more sustainable Canberra: the example of food Prof. David Pearson, /Exploring-individual-values-and-attitudes-for-a-Sustainable-Canberra.pdf 10