How Your Choices Affect the Environment
From the food you eat to how you get around, your day-to-day choices can leave a lasting impact on the environment. A carbon footprint is one way to measure the impact of those choices.
Calculating your carbon footprint can be a fun and educational way to learn more about climate change. It can also help you determine how you can be kinder to the planet.
How to calculate your carbon footprint
Calculating your carbon footprint can help you identify ways to reduce your business’s impact on the climate. It also helps you prepare for a net zero transition and set robust targets for your emissions.
Your carbon footprint can be calculated in many different ways, but one of the simplest methods is to look at how much greenhouse gas (GHG) you emit over an annual period. This number can vary significantly depending on your lifestyle choices, such as driving, diet, energy use and more.
You can calculate your carbon footprint manually or via a carbon calculator tool, which can make this process faster and easier. You can then use the information to offset your carbon emissions through CO2 emission offsetting projects.
What is a carbon footprint?
A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced by an individual, business or country. These GHGs contribute to global warming and climate change.
People, businesses and countries produce GHGs through manufacturing, energy consumption and transport. They can reduce or offset these emissions by improving energy efficiency, consuming electricity of 100% renewable origin, running campaigns to raise awareness and investing in environmental projects, among other things.
Consumers can also reduce their own carbon footprint by choosing products that use fewer resources in production and shipping. For example, buying local is an easy way to reduce the carbon emissions associated with food.
The EPA’s Household Carbon Footprint Calculator estimates your footprint in three areas: home energy, transportation and waste. It does not include some types of emissions, such as those related to heating and air conditioning.
How do I reduce my carbon footprint?
Whether you’re at home, working or travelling, there are plenty of ways you can reduce your carbon footprint. The most obvious ones include reducing energy use, eating less meat and shopping locally.
Changing your electricity provider to one that uses low-carbon energy (which comes from renewable sources such as wind, water or sun) can also help. Electricity is the biggest contributor to carbon dioxide emissions, so a 100% green supply will be more environmentally friendly than one that relies on fossil fuels.
Eating a plant-based diet can significantly lower your greenhouse gas emissions. Switching to plant-based meals can reduce your environmental impact by up to 73 percent, and if you give up meat altogether, it can cut your carbon emissions by more than 8 pounds per day.
Avoiding air travel if possible, and opting for non-stop flights, can also significantly decrease your carbon emissions. Alternatively, consider offsetting your flight’s carbon emissions if you must fly for work or pleasure.
How can I reduce my carbon footprint?
If you are concerned about the climate crisis, it is important to know that you can make small adjustments to help reduce your carbon footprint. This is a great way to do something positive for our planet.
Reducing your carbon footprint is easy and can also save you money on energy bills. Here are some simple ways to do so:
Eat low on the food chain (this means avoiding meat, dairy and other foods with high levels of methane). The production and transport of livestock produce 14.5 percent of global manmade greenhouse gas emissions.
Fly less frequently when possible. Traveling by air emits a lot of greenhouse gases, especially during take-off and landing.
Reducing your carbon footprint can also be done by switching to greener fuels and insulating your home effectively. Heating and cooling account for a large proportion of a household’s carbon emissions, so making sure that your house is well-insulated can help to lower your overall carbon impact.