On November 20, 2024, Mathis Wackernagel received the 2024 Sustainability Award for Leadership in Implementation by the Nobel Sustainability Trust for his contribution to the sustainability transformation. It has been a powerful recognition. Prof. Volker Sieber, Rector of TUMCS, delivered the Laudatio below on behalf of the selection committee. He is a Professor for Chemistry of Biogenic Resources and Rector of the Campus Straubing for Biotechnology and Sustainability of the Technical University of Munich (TUM). He also served on the Nobel Sustainability Trust’s selection committee.
“It is a tremendous privilege to stand before you today to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, a visionary scholar, and dedicated advocate for our planet. Today, we recognize a man whose contributions to sustainability and resource management have changed the way we understand and handle our relationship with Earth. His life’s work, much like his character, is marked by an unwavering commitment to truth, understanding, and not less than humanity’s common future”, Prof. Sieber said. “So, Mathis, on behalf of everyone here today I would like to thank you. Thank you for your vision, for your courage, and for your tireless dedication. You remind us that our choices matter, that each decision we make leaves a footprint, and that together, we have the power to chart a sustainable path forward. That is true leadership.“
The Nobel Sustainability Trust and the selection committee led by the Institute for Advanced Study of Technical University Munich, Germany, chose Mathis because he co-developed the concept of the Ecological Footprint in the early 1990s with his doctorate supervisor, Professor William Rees, at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. This widespread and popular concept helps compare human demand against planetary or regional ecosystem regeneration. Also, he co-founded in 2003 with Susan Burns Global Footprint Network, an international nonprofit organisation to advise companies, cities, and countries on the implications of global overshoot. The Trust further highlighted the annual Earth Overshoot Day campaign which marks the date when humanity has used up all the natural resources that the Earth can provide in a year.
The full text of Prof Volker Sieber’s laudatory speech can be found here: https://www.wackernagel.info/nobel-laudatio.