PGC 2025

PROJECT GREEN CHALLENGE DAY 2
Challenge Doodle

Footprint

HOW DO YOUR CHOICES AFFECT THE PLANET?

Today’s challenge invites you to reflect on the impact of your choices with curiosity and intention. As you explore your footprint, you’ll begin to see how daily decisions connect to larger systems and recognize the power you have to help shift both.

Let this be a moment of awareness, not pressure or guilt. Small, intentional steps can spark meaningful change for you, your community, and the planet.

❝

It is our collective and individual responsibility to preserve and tend to the world in which we all live.”

– Dalai Lama, Tibetan Spiritual Leader
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Your ecological footprint measures the land, water, and natural resources needed to sustain your lifestyle — from the food you eat to the energy you use to the waste you produce. When our collective demand outpaces Earth’s ability to regenerate each year, we enter ecological overshoot, a dangerous trend that has persisted for more than five decades. Your carbon footprint reflects the greenhouse gas emissions tied to everyday life, including transportation, electricity, and food production.

In today’s connected world, our digital habits have also become a growing part of our footprints. Streaming, cloud storage, and AI tools consume massive amounts of energy. AI alone may generate more than 8.4 tons of CO₂ per user annually. Algorithms also shape how we see the world, sometimes fueling misinformation and slowing climate progress.

Whether physical or digital, every part of our footprint is connected. Tools like the Global Footprint Network help measure our demand on nature, empowering individuals, communities, and nations to track progress and make informed choices.

Recognizing the links between what we do, the systems that shape those choices, and the solutions already within reach gives us real power: to act with purpose and urgency, and to help build the just, sustainable future we all deserve.

RESOURCES

CHALLENGE

Green

20 POINTS

THINK

The choices we make every day add up, especially when multiplied by nearly 8 billion people. When we shift our habits, we start to change the system to support the well-being of our Earth and all the species that inhabit it.

CHALLENGE

  • Calculate Your Footprint: Use the Global Footprint Network’s calculator to determine your ecological footprint.
  • Reflect on Your Impact:
    • How many planets would it take to support your lifestyle?
    • Which daily activity uses the most resources?
    • Identify one change you can make based on what you learned today that you can change to reduce your footprint.
  • Post on Instagram:
    • Share your results and one thing you learned.
    • Tag @TurningGreenOrg and @GlobalFootprintNetwork, and use #PGC2026 and #MoveTheDate. 
    • Challenge your friends to calculate their own footprint and post their results.

SUBMIT YOUR WORK

  1. Create a PDF: Combine your responses into a single PDF.
  2. Include: Your name (or team name), username, and school on the PDF.
  3. File Naming: firstname_lastname_day1_green_2026.pdf or teamname_day1_green_2026.pdf
  4. Example: kasie_jones_day1_green_2026.pdf or GreenTeam_day1_green_2026.pdf
  5. Avoid Symbols: (including #) or spaces in the file name.
  6. File Size: Must be under 5 MB.
  7. Submit: Upload your PDF. If you do not see the upload button, you need to login. A green confirmation message will appear if your submission is successful. If you don’t see this, please try again.
  8. Points: If your total points don’t update, your submission may not have uploaded correctly—please retry. 
  9. Check Score: Go to Edit Profile on the bottom navigation bar; your score appears at the top of the page.
  10. Questions: Email pgc@turninggreen.org.
  11. Social Media: Tag @TurningGreenOrg on Instagram and use #PGC2026.
The deadline for entering this challenge has passed.

Greener

40 POINTS

THINK

Humans currently use resources as if we lived on 1.8 Earths. The Ecological Footprint shows how our demand compares to the planet’s ability to regenerate. Earth Overshoot Day is the date when we have used more than nature can replenish in a year. This day arrives earlier each year, but by shifting how we live, we can help push it back.

CHALLENGE

  • Learn how Earth Overshoot Day is calculated and find this year’s date on the Global Footprint Network website. 
  • Choose one of Global Footprint Network’s suggested actions—or create your own—to help #MoveTheDate. 
  • Reflect on how you could push back your personal overshoot date and what changes you can make at home, school, or in your community to shrink your footprint. 
  • Design an infographic, poster, or digital graphic showing the step(s) you will take.
  • Post your design on Instagram with a caption explaining your commitment.

SUBMIT YOUR WORK

    1. Create a PDF: Combine your responses into a single PDF.
    2. Include: Your name (or team name), username, and school on the PDF.
    3. File Naming: firstname_lastname_day1_greener_2026.pdf or teamname_day1_greener_2026.pdf
    4. Example: kasie_jones_day1_greener_2026.pdf or GreenTeam_day1_greener_2026.pdf
    5. Avoid Symbols: (including #) or spaces in the file name.
    6. File Size: Must be under 5 MB.
    7. Submit: Upload your PDF. If you do not see the upload button, you need to login. A green confirmation message will appear if your submission is successful. If you don’t see this, please try again.
    8. Points: If your total points don’t update, your submission may not have uploaded correctly—please retry. 
    9. Check Score: Go to Edit Profile on the bottom navigation bar; your score appears at the top of the page.
    10. Questions: Email pgc@turninggreen.org.
    11. Social Media: Tag @TurningGreenOrg on Instagram and use #PGC2026.
The deadline for entering this challenge has passed.

Greenest

60 POINTS

THINK

The climate crisis is also a justice crisis. A small share of people consume most of the world’s resources, while those who’ve contributed the least face the harshest impacts. Real change requires transforming systems, not just shifting individual habits.

CHALLENGE

  • Speak with a few people in your community — family, classmates, teachers, or local activists — about how climate change is impacting their lives and the most vulnerable groups around you. 
  • Ask what changes, whether small or large, could make the biggest impact in strengthening your community’s resilience to climate change. 
  • Capture their voices through quotes, photos, or audio clips. 
  • Turn what you gather into a digital mini-story such as a graphic, slideshow, or one-minute video, and share it on Instagram to raise awareness, spotlight local realities, and spark collective action.
  • Tag @TurningGreenOrg in the caption and image, and use hashtag #PGC2026.

SUBMIT YOUR WORK

    1. Create a PDF: Combine your responses into a single PDF including any links.
    2. Include: Your name (or team name), username, and school on the PDF.
    3. File Naming: firstname_lastname_day1_greenest_2026.pdf or teamname_day1_greenest_2026.pdf
    4. Example: kasie_jones_day1_greenest_2026.pdf or GreenTeam_day1_greenest_2026.pdf
    5. Avoid Symbols: (including #) or spaces in the file name.
    6. File Size: Must be under 5 MB.
    7. Submit: Upload your PDF. If you do not see the upload button, you need to login. A green confirmation message will appear if your submission is successful. If you don’t see this, please try again.
    8. Points: If your total points don’t update, your submission may not have uploaded correctly—please retry. 
    9. Check Score: Go to Edit Profile on the bottom navigation bar; your score appears at the top of the page.
    10. Questions: Email pgc@turninggreen.org.
    11. Social Media: Tag @TurningGreenOrg on Instagram and use #PGC2026.
The deadline for entering this challenge has passed.
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