You’re probably leaving a mark on our planet as you’re staying here, reading this article. So if you’re into minimizing your impact on it, the first step is to address and calculate your carbon footprint, to reduce it then. So in order to find out & to try and become carbon neutral, the first thing to do is to know what is a carbon footprint.
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What’s a carbon footprint?
Your carbon footprint measures the amount of carbon dioxide that you emit. Your daily activities, such as travel (car, plane, train, etc.), electrical use, consumption of products and services, foods you eat, etc., determine this footprint. So, to calculate your carbon footprint, you must take into account the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions you produce throughout your lifetime.
Indirect sources, such as the growing, harvesting, and shipping of the food you eat every day, or the amount of trash your home generates for landfills, can also contribute to these emissions.
CO2 Emissions encompass many of today’s environmental problems, you’ll hear about pollution, climate change, and global warming, and they can be all traced back to the emissions of greenhouse gases.
The average American’s carbon footprint
The average American’s carbon footprint is 16 tons, making it one of the greatest in the world. Nearly four tons of CO2 are emitted by every person on Earth. The average annual global carbon footprint must be reduced to under 2 tons by 2050 if we are to avert a 2°C rise in global temperatures.
It takes time and effort to get from 16 tons of CO2 to 2 tons of CO2 per person! We can start making a significant difference by making little changes to our actions, such as eating less meat, taking fewer connecting flights, and line drying our clothes.
How to calculate your carbon footprint?
For individuals:
Measuring your daily carbon footprint is nearly impossible due to a large number of variables at play. However, it is possible to estimate your car’s carbon emissions per mile by looking at the range of miles per gallon your car’s manufacturer gives you. Everything else in your life can also be estimated to give you a range of what your emissions are.
People who live in single-family homes produce significantly more emissions from their food consumption than those who live in apartments, such as a family of five. Even if you work from home, your carbon footprint may be greater than someone who travels by plane once a month for work.
For instance, there are various ways to calculate your carbon footprint; one of them is the carbon footprint calculator made by nature.org, or the calculator made by carbonfootprint.com. But if you’re more into the DIY calculations, here is a simple way created by Alexandra Shimo-Barry, to do it:
- Monthly electric bill x 105
- Monthly gas bill x 105
- Monthly oil bill x 113
- Total yearly mileage on your car x .79
- Flights in the last year:
- 4 hours or less x 1,100
- 4 hours or more x 4,400
- If you don’t recycle newspaper: +184
- If you don’t recycle aluminum or tin: +166
If you want to have a “minimal” carbon footprint, aim for 6,000 to 15,999 pounds per year. 16,000 to 22,000 people are considered the norm. You’re in a good, low position if you go below this threshold. More than 22,000? You may wish to think about some “green” activities.
For companies:
Environmental promises from corporations & businesses of all sizes are becoming more commonplace. Your organization may be tempted to join the bandwagon of climate pledges if you’ve heard the words carbon-neutral, net-zero, climate positive, and overall if you want your company to be considered an environmentally responsible company. The first step in avoiding greenwashing is to monitor your emissions, which all of these firms do before making unrealistic claims.
You may divide your emissions into two categories at the most fundamental level: Direct and indirect emissions. These can be activities that your business directly controls and that assist your business’s functioning but are not under your control. Your building’s energy and fuel usage are examples of direct emissions. Direct emissions encompass anything from staff travel and software to the emissions related to delivering a product to clients and much more. However, suppose you don’t own a lot of real estate. In that case, you should expect your indirect emissions to account for the majority of your total emissions and, hence, your company’s carbon footprint.
How to reduce your carbon footprint?
There are many ways out there you can use to reduce your carbon footprint. Here are some of the solutions you can start implementing, regardless if you’re a company or an individual.
1. Reducing your carbon footprint at home
Even though true solutions will need global effort, you can take steps to reduce your own influence on the environment by making better choices in your everyday life. Some of them will be explained in this tutorial.
Think about how much and how frequently you travel as an excellent first step in reducing your carbon impact. We have created an entire article here, where you can find more ways to reduce your environmental impact.
2. Carbon offsetting
In order to compensate for your carbon dioxide emissions, you may purchase a carbon offset. Everyday activities like driving, flying, and heating houses all use energy and emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon offsetting is a method of reducing emissions in other regions of the globe to make up for the emissions that are being produced.
Carbon offsetting provides funding for immediate efforts to reduce emissions. CO2 emissions are reduced more quickly via carbon offsetting than through individual/single business efforts. Carbon offsetting programs aid in the fight against global warming while also benefiting the local community they are implemented in. Providing much-needed jobs, health benefits, biodiversity enhancements, reforestation, and other social advantages to underserved areas is a common goal.
3. Choose green energy
Climate change can only be solved if people, corporations, and government organizations all make responsible efforts to reduce their CO2 emissions as much as feasible. Another great way to lower your carbon footprint is to choose an energy company whose energy is sourced from green energy resources such as wind, solar, or hydro-power.
In a deregulated energy market, you have the power to choose who delivers your electricity. As many options as there are people to select from. It’s true that not everyone is created equal, though. You may do your bit to save the Earth by adding a green energy product to your electric or natural gas plan if you choose a sustainable energy supplier. At www.Click2Power.com, we help you find the best company that supplies energy to your
