Description

There is no agreed definition of a biodiversity footprint. Some definitions include only the area affected by direct impacts stemming from the site, while other definitions include the wider area that is subject to both direct and indirect impacts. For example, the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Programme describe a footprint as “the area of land or water covered or affected by a project. This can include the direct physical coverage (i.e. the area on which the project physically stands) and the area directly affected by the project (i.e. the area affected by disturbances that directly emanate from the project, such as noise).” ¹ Other biodiversity footprinting approaches refer to footprints extending beyond the physical area directly affected by a site to encompass the entire value chain. ² This includes direct and indirect impacts, upstream and downstream impacts, and future impacts that are yet to take place.

Business and Biodiversity Offsets Programme (2018) ¹

CDC Biodiversité (2021) ²