noun · neutral
footprint
/ˈfʊtprɪnt/FOOT·print
The amount of environmental impact, especially greenhouse-gas emissions, caused by a person, product, organization, or activity.
Examples
“Choosing a smaller car can cut your carbon footprint significantly.”
“Many firms now publish their annual footprint to show progress on sustainability.”
“Students were asked to calculate the footprint of their household energy use.”
Band 8 sentence
“If countries are serious about the Paris targets, they must measure and reduce their corporate carbon footprint, not just issue vague pledges.”
Collocations
- carbon footprint
- reduce someone's footprint
- measure/calculate a footprint
Word family
Common mistakes
reduce footprint→reduce the footprint
foot print→footprint
Say it for a higher band
5impact→6environmental impact→7+footprint
Synonyms
impact
environmental impact
Easily confused
impact
“The new factory had a smaller environmental impact than expected.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Environment & Climate
Learn it with its set