Ecological Footprint case study - Bayside City Council

Bayside City Council values its environment, and council aims to achieve environmental sustainability. The council recognises that, while Bayside has significant and valuable natural features such as the coast, bushland reserves and open space, having 90,000 people living in a highly modified urban environment places extreme pressures on the environment and natural resources.

Bayside is progressing its environmental sustainability agenda on a number of fronts, including strategies to address greenhouse gas emissions, water usage and stormwater pollution. The Bayside Environmental Sustainability Framework introduced the concept of Ecological Footprint as a measure of the overall environmental sustainability of the municipality.

How is Ecological Footprint used?

Using community survey techniques, an Ecological Footprint profile was constructed through a cross-section of the Bayside community. The Ecological Footprint of a typical household was estimated, along with a picture of the range of different Ecological Footprints occurring across the community.

The resulting Ecological Footprint profile provides a way to track changes in the environmental sustainability of the community. In addition, through integrated cross-analysis with other socio-economic indicators, the council will be able to target its strategies and programs to those areas where they can have the greatest effect at reducing Ecological Footprint.

A total of 401 surveys were completed ensuring that the resulting profile reflects and represents the broader Bayside community and it is statistically reliable.