Assessing Your Personal Carbon Footprint
by Beth Gray
The growing concern over climate change has led many companies to consider how to alter their own practices in order to mitigate their carbon emissions. Several large corporations have taken significant steps toward assessing and taking steps to lessen their environmental impact. Walmart, for example, has a very well-developed sustainability initiative and has a page on their corporate website devoted to tracking how the company is doing in its attempt to have a less negative impact on the environment. General Electric also has a sustainability initiative and publishes an annual sustainability report to track the company’s progress in achieving a greener future. Nearly 700 institutions of higher education (including American Public University System) have also pledged to assess their carbon footprints through signing the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and take dramatic measures toward eventually achieving carbon neutrality.
Individuals, however, have arguably been aware of their own practices and their impact on the environment for as long, if not longer, than most American and global companies. Most of us are aware that there are certain things we can do to lessen our environmental footprint and so we take reusable bags to the grocery store, swap out incandescent bulbs for LED bulbs in our homes, and even organize a carpooling system. For most, however, the task of assessing their exact impact on the planet and quantifying how the changes we implement have had a positive impact has seemed too daunting to tackle.
In recent years, a variety of personal carbon footprint calculators have become available online which can help individuals quantify how their own lifestyles and activities are impacting the environment. Understanding how our everyday practices contribute to our overall carbon footprint can help us take steps to affect measurable and meaningful change. As a September 2008 article in Scientific American points out, the results may be surprising to many but are helpful in determining how best to mitigate each person’s individual environmental impact. For example, the article notes that “residents of eco-aware San Francisco tend to have bigger carbon footprints than those in more conservative Tampa, Florida” because “San Francisco has a higher cost of living and colder, wetter winters (requiring more fossil-fuel derived heat).” Below are some of the most popular carbon calculators which can be used by individuals to determine their carbon footprints.
- University of California, Berkeley’s Cool Climate Calculator – This is one of the most comprehensive calculators, taking into account nearly every aspect imaginable. Free to use, the calculator also allows users to compare their individual results with similar households in the 28 largest areas in the United States. The “Take Action” tab on this calculator allows the user to see recommendations for reducing individual carbon footprints with information related to cost per month to implement each recommended action as well as estimated impact on the carbon footprint as a result.
- EarthLab.com – EarthLab has partnered with Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection and other groups to disseminate information on how individual actions can impact the environment. Users take a three minute survey and get back a carbon footprint score which can be saved and updated as changes in lifestyle are made. This site also offers a wealth of lifestyle change suggestions which can help even the least informed take measures to mitigate their environmental impacts.
- CarbonFootprint.com – This site explains in great depth what contributes to one’s carbon footprint, bringing greater clarity and focus to the idea. Users are not required to create an account but are advised to do so in order to revisit the information and update it as changes are made to each individual’s lifestyle.
- World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Carbon Calculator – The WWF’s Carbon Calculator is quick and easy to use. By answering only a handful of questions, the calculator is able to give you a quick result. Additionally, this particular calculator compares your total tons of carbon dioxide emitted each year to the average for the United States and the world. Users can share their results with other users and review options for reducing their own annual emissions.
Tags: Alliance for Climate Protection, American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, American Public University System, annual sustainability report, Carbon Calculator, Carbonfootprint.com, Cool Climate Calculator; Earthlab.com, General Electric, Scientific American, sustainability initiative, Walmart, World Wildlife Fund
