About Us

Global Footprint Network is a research organization that bridges science, policy, and economics to change how the world manages its natural resources. We’ve engaged with more than 50 nations and 70 global partners to deliver scientific insights that have driven high-impact policy and investment decisions.

Meet Our Team

Susan BurnsDirector, Finance for Change

Susan co-founded Global Footprint Network and helped build it into one of the leading scientific organizations addressing global ecological limits. Prior to launching Global Footprint Network, Susan founded the pioneering sustainability consulting firm Natural Strategies and led the development of the screening methodology for Portfolio 21, the US’s first sustainability-focused mutual fund. In 2007, along with Mathis Wackernagel, she won the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. John Elkington identified Susan among the “Zeronaut 50” Roll of Honor, i.e., leading pioneers who are driving the world’s most significant problems to zero.

Mathis Wackernagel, Ph.D.Founder & President, Global Footprint Network

Dr. Mathis Wackernagel created the footprint concept in the early 1990s with Prof. Bill Rees to compare human demand against planetary or regional ecosystem regeneration. The carbon footprint portion has become the most popular variant. In 2003, he co-founded Global Footprint Network to make planetary constraints relevant to decision-making. Mathis’s honors include two honorary doctorates, the 2018 World Sustainability Award, the 2015 IAIA Global Environment Award, and the 2012 Blue Planet Prize.

Amanda DiepDirector, Communications

Amanda Diep leads the communications efforts at Global Footprint Network. Her responsibilities include overseeing the implementation of top initiatives, regular email engagement, and supporting project communications. She explores communications strategies that integrate the latest thought leadership and psychology of engagement. Amanda holds an interdisciplinary master’s degree in weather, climate, and society from the University of Miami in Florida and a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from San Jose State University.

Alessandro Galli, Ph.D.Director, Mediterranean and MENA Regions

Alessandro Galli is a Senior Scientist and the Mediterranean-MENA Program Director at Global Footprint Network. As Senior Scientist, he contributes to research on the Ecological Footprint methodology and technical publications. His research analyzes the historical changes in human dependence on natural resources and ecological services through the use of sustainability indicators and environmental accounting methods. Previously, he worked as technical adviser on the Al Basama Al Beeiya (Ecological Footprint) Initiative in the United Arab Emirates with the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS-WWF) and the Environment Agency–Abu Dhabi (EAD). Alessandro holds a Ph.D. in chemical sciences from Siena University. He is the lead author of the Mediterranean Ecological Footprint Trends report and co-author of several publications, including 13 articles in peer-reviewed journals; the article “Global Biodiversity: Indicators of Recent Declines” published in the leading journal Science; and WWF’s 2008, 2012, and 2016 Living Planet Reports. Alessandro is also member of the editorial board of the journal Resources: Natural Resources and Management. He is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the MedSea Foundation and was a MARSICO Visiting Scholar at University of Denver, Colorado, USA, in 2011 and a visiting scholar at Cardiff University, Wales, in February 2016.

Katsunori IhaResearch Economist

Katsunori Iha is a research economist, responsible for tracking Ecological Footprints in global supply chains through the use of the multi-regional input-output model, which also applies to sub-national and personal calculator projects. Currently, he is working on developing the computable general equilibrium for Ecological Footprint (CGE-EF) model to assess the impact of different policies on nature. His next project will be building a platform to connect interdisciplinary scholars and leaders in Asian regions that are facing sustainability challenges. He holds an M.S. in economics, specializing in environmental economics, from Okinawa International University, Japan.

David Lin, Ph.D.Chief Science Officer

David leads Global Footprint Network’s research team, and contributes to the production, development, and improvement of the National Footprint Accounts. Prior to joining Global Footprint Network, David earned his Ph.D. and worked as a post-doctoral researcher in the Systems Ecology Laboratory at the University of Texas at El Paso. His research focused on integrating models of ecosystem function with land cover change analysis in Arctic ecosystems. David is a native of California, and holds a BS in ecology, behavior, and evolution from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Our Partners

Carbon Disclosure Working Group

Global Footprint Network and South Pole Group created the Carbon Disclosure Working Group to support asset owners and managers by developing a clearer framework for climate assessment and carbon disclosure in sovereign debt and facilitating greater disclosure to improve risk management. While methodologies had been developed to measure and manage the carbon footprint for corporate equity and debt, no standards for carbon disclosure of sovereign bond investments existed. The Working Group aimed to address this gap.

Members of the working group included:

BlackRock (US)
MN (Asset owner in the Netherlands)
Alliance Bernstein (US)
Degroof Petercam Asset Management (DPAM) (Belgium)
Vontobel (Switzerland)
Aegon Asset Management (Netherlands)
BT Pension Scheme (UK)
Nippon Life Global Investors (Singapore)

Facilitating Organizations:
2° Investing Initiative
Sustainable Finance Programme, University of Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment

For more information, please contact Jag Alexeyev, jag.alexeyev@footprintnetwork.org, +1-510-839-8879.

Finance for Change Advisory Council

The Advisory Council was created to guide Global Footprint Network’s Finance for Change Initiative.

Members included:

Jag Alexeyev
Jag is the Head of ESG Insights at Broadridge, providing intelligence on the ESG marketplace to investors. He is also the Founder of Impactvesting, a research and advisory firm that helps asset managers develop sustainable investment solutions. During the past 20 years, Jag has advised the executives of more than 100 investment management firms on market strategy, product innovation and global distribution.

Darius Nassiry
Darius specializes in climate finance and investment in sustainable development. He is a senior research associate at the Overseas Development Institute, where he focuses on finance for implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and is also a member of Climate Bonds Initiative’s recently formed advisory team.

John Fullerton
John is the Founder and President of Capital Institute; a non-partisan think-tank working to explore and effect the economic transition to a more just, regenerative, and thus sustainable way of living on this earth through the transformation of finance. Jon is also the Owner and Principal of Level 3 Capital Advisor’s LLC whose investments are focused on sustainable, regenerative land use, food and water issues. John writes the “Future of Finance” blog which is widely syndicated on platforms such as The Guardian and The Huffington Post.

Anthony Hobley
Anthony has been CEO of the Carbon Tracker Initiative since February 2014. Previously he was a partner and Global Head of the Sustainability & Climate Finance Practice at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. Formerly he was General Counsel to the Climate Change Capital Carbon Fund. Anthony specialised in climate change and clean energy law as well as international environmental law. He has been heavily involved in designing carbon markets in the UK, EU, Australia and Asia. Anthony holds a First Class Honours Degree in Chemistry & Physics and a LLM in Environmental Law. He writes and speaks widely on climate risk and the financial sector.

Moritz Kraemer
Moritz is the Global Chief Rating Officer of Sovereign Ratings at S&P Global. In this role he focuses on coordinating global analytics and leading research and market outreach for S&P sovereign ratings. Prior to joining S&P, Moritz was a Country Economist with the Inter-American Development Bank, working with governments in Latin American in the design and implementation of economic policy reforms.

Job Opportunities

No positions available at this time.