Chapter 2
A Conceptual Framework
for Constituting a Footprint Family
Abstract It makes sense to combine a selection of environmental footprints that
address different aspects of environmental issues into an integrated system. This
chapter starts with the idea of developing a footprint family from which most important footprints can be compared and integrated. On the basis of literature review
in related fields, the ecological, energy, carbon, and water footprints are employed
as selected indicators to define a footprint family. A brief survey is presented to
provide background information on each of the footprints with an emphasis on their
main characteristics in a comparative sense. Although the four footprints differ in
more aspects than only in the impacts that are addressed, the footprint family has
proved effective in making use of them in a complementary way. We then evaluate
the performance of the footprint family on data availability, coverage complementarity, methodological consistency, and policy relevance and propose solutions and
suggestions for further improvement. The key conclusions are that the footprint
family, which captures a broad spectrum of sustainability issues, is able to offer a
more complete picture of environmental complexity for policy makers than single
footprints and, in particular, in national-level studies. The research provides new
insights into the distinction between environmental impact assessment (EIA) and
environmental sustainability assessment (ESA), properly serving as a reference for
multidisciplinary efforts in estimating planetary boundaries for global sustainability.
Keywords Footprint family · Energy footprint · Carbon footprint · Water
footprint · Characteristics · Performance evaluation · Planetary boundaries
2.1 Introduction
Over the past decades, our Earth has witnessed a significant shift from local environmental issues to global environmental change associated with an irreversible decline
in natural capital stocks and ecosystem services on a global scale (Oosthoek and Gills
2005). In striving to monitor the pressures humanity exerts on the environment, an
integrated system where different impact categories can be measured through a set
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
K. Fang, Environmental Footprints,
SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61018-0_2
11
A Conceptual Framework
for Constituting a Footprint Family
Abstract It makes sense to combine a selection of environmental footprints that
address different aspects of environmental issues into an integrated system. This
chapter starts with the idea of developing a footprint family from which most important footprints can be compared and integrated. On the basis of literature review
in related fields, the ecological, energy, carbon, and water footprints are employed
as selected indicators to define a footprint family. A brief survey is presented to
provide background information on each of the footprints with an emphasis on their
main characteristics in a comparative sense. Although the four footprints differ in
more aspects than only in the impacts that are addressed, the footprint family has
proved effective in making use of them in a complementary way. We then evaluate
the performance of the footprint family on data availability, coverage complementarity, methodological consistency, and policy relevance and propose solutions and
suggestions for further improvement. The key conclusions are that the footprint
family, which captures a broad spectrum of sustainability issues, is able to offer a
more complete picture of environmental complexity for policy makers than single
footprints and, in particular, in national-level studies. The research provides new
insights into the distinction between environmental impact assessment (EIA) and
environmental sustainability assessment (ESA), properly serving as a reference for
multidisciplinary efforts in estimating planetary boundaries for global sustainability.
Keywords Footprint family · Energy footprint · Carbon footprint · Water
footprint · Characteristics · Performance evaluation · Planetary boundaries
2.1 Introduction
Over the past decades, our Earth has witnessed a significant shift from local environmental issues to global environmental change associated with an irreversible decline
in natural capital stocks and ecosystem services on a global scale (Oosthoek and Gills
2005). In striving to monitor the pressures humanity exerts on the environment, an
integrated system where different impact categories can be measured through a set
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
K. Fang, Environmental Footprints,
SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61018-0_2
11