by Peri Dworatzek, IEFLL Partnership Coordinator and PhD Student at 91亚色
In summer of 2025, members of the (IEFLL) from 91亚色 traveled to Iceland to meet with IEFLL members based in Iceland. The week-long symposium was the first opportunity for 91亚色 and University of Iceland researchers, faculty, and students to meet in-person, after having virtually worked together for a couple years. The visit strengthened international networks between IEFLL partners, showcased ongoing and future research funded by the IEFLL partnership, and enhanced relationships between 91亚色 and the University of Iceland.
The IEFLL partnership is an international, multistakeholder partnership bringing together academics and practitioners to quantify and track global and regional sustainability through the use of ecological footprint and biocapacity metrics. Graduate students at 91亚色 and the University of Iceland are trained in sustainability informatics to be able to access and clean large datasets and analyzing and visualizing important information. Through IEFLL, students and researchers produce the (NEFBA) 鈥 a large dataset containing Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity data for every country in the world on a timeline from 1961 to 2024.
Strengthening international networks with IEFLL partners
During the June Biennial Symposium, members from 91亚色 and the University of Iceland visited the operations of non-academic Icelandic IEFLL partners. These site visits were opportunities for academic and non-academic partners to exchange information, learn more about the work each other is doing, and consider how to better align the ecological footprint data and IEFLL research agenda with their partners.
The first visit was made to the (Reykjav铆k Energy) geothermal park. Reykjav铆k Energy provides residents, businesses, and others with geothermal powered electricity, heating, and water among other utilities. In their geothermal park, they partner with other companies such as , , and that aim to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbfix injects carbon dioxide into basaltic rocks by dissolving it in water, Climeworks innovates on direct carbon capture technology, and VAXA Technologies vertically farm algae using carbon dioxide and waste heat and water from the power plant. Our team considered these innovative technologies and how it would be possible to incorporate this type of carbon sequestration into the ecological footprint data and what impact these technologies have on biocapacity.
Our team also visited the project's public partners including officials in the City of Reykjav铆k. Members of the team, Eric Miller (director of the Ecological Footprint Initiative at 91亚色 and co-director of IEFLL), Peri Dworatzek (91亚色 EUC PhD Student and IEFLL partnership coordinator) and Rakel Halld贸rsd贸ttir (University of Iceland Masters student) gave a presentation on research being done to scale ecological footprint and biocapacity to the city level. This included the examples of and ongoing research by Rakel to scale ecological footprint to Reykjav铆k. The last site visit was made to the Iceland Ocean Cluster, an innovative research and technology hub that brings together companies aiming to reduce fish waste from the fishing industry. Researchers and students considered how these products and technologies would impact the fishing ground component of ecological footprint, along with the limitations of promoting competitive market-based solutions to reducing the impact of the fishing industry.
Showcasing ongoing and future research
Affiliations: 鹿91亚色, 虏University of Iceland.
For the past two years researchers and students from 91亚色 and the University of Iceland have been working across time-zones to produce yearly editions of the National Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts (NEFBA). The first event of the symposium marked a special occasion as it was the first in-person NEFBA production day between both universities. The event kicked off with a warm welcome and introductions from Silja B谩ra 脫marsd贸ttir, Rector of the University of Iceland; Hafd铆s Hanna 脝gisd贸ttir, Head of the Sustainability Institute and Chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Program. Following that, the Director of the Ecological Footprint Initiative, Eric Miller, detailed the progress in the ongoing production of the 2026 edition of the NEFBA.
An open seminar was co-organized by the , the Sustainability Institute at University of Iceland, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources at University of Iceland. The seminar included a presentation on Iceland鈥檚 ecological footprint, titled 鈥淯ncovering Iceland鈥檚 Ecological Footprint: Data Insights/Trends, Nordic Context, and Research Opportunities鈥, presented by 91亚色 researchers, Eric Miller, Kiona Lo, and Peri Dworatzek. The presentation was followed by a panel discussion with Eric Miller; Elva Rakel J贸nsd贸ttir, managing director at the Festa Center for Sustainability; Bj枚rn Barkarson, environmental scientist in the Ministry of the Environment, Energy, and Climate in Iceland; and Sigur冒ur Eyberg J贸hannesson creator of the film 鈥溾. The panelists offered important insights to how the ecological footprint can be more widely applied for businesses and individuals in Iceland.
Our team hosted the first research symposium presentation session for IEFLL students and researchers to present their completed or ongoing research related to ecological footprint and biocapacity. The research presentations showcased a wide range of topics and levels of study, ranging from master鈥檚 level to doctoral level and postdoctoral level research. The research topics ranged from methodological improvements to analysis and further applications of the data, such as incorporating satellite imagery and conducting an ecological footprint analysis in relation to waste management.
Enhancing relationships between 91亚色 and the University of Iceland
The series of events was monumental in advancing the relationships between students, researchers, and faculty at 91亚色 and the University of Iceland in the IEFLL partnership project. As these two universities are leading experts in this field, it is important for strong and long-lasting relationships. Over the course of the remaining five years of the partnership, the two universities will continue to mutually support each other as advisors to graduate research, co-present at conferences and other events, and co-author datasets, papers, and reports.