The average Dane lives far beyond what our planet can tolerate: In fact, if everyone lived like the average Dane, we would need more than four planets to support our demands on nature. But changing to a truly sustainable life that is aligned with what the planet can support is difficult–even if you really want to.
"One problem is that it's hard for people to distinguish between what is better for the environment and what is good enough. If you get a three out of 10, it's better than a two out of 10, but it's still a bad grade. So, the question is: When can we say that the grade is good enough?" asks PhD at DTU Teddy Serrano.
To do this, they first estimated an acceptable annual footprint per person within six environmental categories if Danes are to live in ways that the planet can sustain. They then worked out how much of this annual impact allowance would be used up by making various choices within the four areas (see box below).
"It's like when we buy a food product and the label not only tells us how much protein and sugar and so on it contains, but also how much of it you can eat if you want to stay healthy. We are trying to do the same by providing information on what an action represents in terms of its impact on the planet," Teddy Serrano explains.
