Calculate your Footprint

What is a Carbon Footprint?

A ‘Carbon Footprint’ is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) or other Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions given off by a product, an organization, an individual or even a specific event through burning fossil fuels. 

 

The calculations included in a footprint cover travel, heating, cooling and electricity. Also counted is the cost in fossil fuel of creating and transporting every item that we use or consume, including such necessities as food and clothing. This is sometimes referred to as ‘embodied energy’. The carbon footprint, measured in tonnes, is taken to be a measure of the extent to which all such activities contribute to global warming.

 

A similar concept commonly talked about is an ‘Ecological Footprint’. This refers to the amount of nature's resources an individual, a community, or a country consumes in a given year. Consumption levels are calculated and translated into the amount of biologically productive land and water area required to produce the resources consumed and to assimilate the wastes generated using prevailing technology. Because people use resources from all over the world, and affect faraway places with their pollution, the Footprint is the sum of all resources used wherever they are on the planet.

 

Calculations for Ecological Footprints are based on six uses of the planet’s bioproductive surface that compete for the Earth’s available biologically productive space which include:

 

  • Growing crops for food, animal feed, fibre, oil crops and rubber
  • Grazing animals for meat hides, wool and milk
  • Harvesting timber for wood fibre and fuel
  • Catching fish
  • Accommodating infrastructure for housing, transportation and industrial production
  • Absorbing carbon dioxide emissions

 

Why calculate your carbon footprint?

The only way to determine if changing your behaviour has a positive impact on the amount of CO2 you produce is to estimate your current footprint and measure your performance against it over time.

 

Typically organisations calculate and report on their carbon footprints for their customers as part of their annual reports; but it is important that you also know how much carbon dioxide you are responsible for if you want to offset it.

 

Businesses sometimes find it difficult to decide what emissions they should include when calculating their carbon footprint. The World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Greenhouse Gas Protocol classifies emissions as follows:

 

  1. Scope 1 – Direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company, for example fuel used in company or employee vehicles
  2. Scope 2 – Emissions from the electricity you consume that is generated elsewhere, such as the electricity from coal fired power stations that is used to power lights, computers and other items
  3. Scope 3 – other indirect emissions that you cause that are not from emission sources that you own, for example, from your supply chain or from business travel on commercial airlines

 

ISO 14064 provides detailed guidance for corporate footprint calculations and emissions reporting. Further details are available through http://www.iso.org/.

 

Footprint calculators

There are a number of calculators currently available on the web. A few favourites are listed below.

The University of Sydney's Centre for Integrated Sustainability Analysis Ecological Footprint Calculator which compares your footprint with the Australian average.

The Australian Conservation Foundation calculator .  After filling in the questionnaire, your key impact areas are identified and you are provided with an action plan. Also provided are graphics to show how you compare against the national average and what you need to aim for to achieve a sustainable Australia

 

The UK Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has a very interesting animated calculator. The UK typically generates more electricity from natural gas; therefore the calculations of CO2 emissions per KWh are less than for Australia. But it provides a comprehensive personalised action plan worth checking out. http://actonco2.direct.gov.uk/index.html

 

The Australian Government's Greenhouse Challenge Plus  Emissions Calculator for businesses.

 

There are undoubtedly many others. Why not email us your favourites.


Carbon offsetting

Before entering the realm of offsetting, it is important to reduce your footprint as far as possible. Check out ‘Reduce your footprint’ for detailed information on how to do this. Offsetting your carbon emissions is becoming increasingly popular, with both businesses and individuals purchasing offsets for areas where carbon emissions are unavoidable, such as essential flights or car journeys. Further details are provided through our ‘carbon offsetting’ page.

 

September 2008