Abstract:
Accelerated human pressure on earth has necessitated adopting environmental footprints to evaluate
environmental sustainability. Ecological Footprint (EF), Carbon Footprint (CF) and Water Footprint (WF)
are common environmental footprints used to evaluate environmental sustainability globally. Although
there is a growing interest for calculating CF and WF, there is a lack of application of EF for environmental
sustainability evaluation in Sri Lankan apparel sector. Therefore, this research investigates the
applicability of EF to evaluate environmental sustainability in apparel sector built environments in Sri
Lanka. Research scope was limited to evaluate environmental impacts of energy consumption, water
utilisation and waste generation in apparel sector built environments.
A qualitative research approach was followed to pursue the research aim. A comprehensive literature
review was conducted to review the concept of EF and the relationship of EF with CF and WF.
Subsequently, three apparel sector factories were investigated in detail to identify the nature of EF
application in Sri Lanka and collected data was subjected to content analysis. Findings revealed that, even
though EF is not currently fully calculated, it is partially evaluated through quantification of CF and Grey
WF. It was also revealed that EF can be practiced to evaluate environmental sustainability in apparel sector
built environments in Sri Lanka. Difficulty to understand the underlying assumptions of EF of water
utilisation and EF of waste generation was identified as the main barrier. Providing training and awareness
on the application of EF, raising awareness on calculating EF of water utilisation and EF of waste
generation are some of the strategies to overcome barriers.
