Carbon Footprint

As stated by Mike Berners-Lee, author of The Carbon Footprint of Everything, a carbon footprint is the “total sum of all the greenhouse gas emissions that had to take place in order for a product to be produced or for an activity to take place”. Each of these activities and products has its own footprint; a person’s carbon footprint is the combined total of the products they buy and use, and the activities they undertake. 

According to the Nature Conservancy, the average carbon footprint for a person in the United States is 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the world. Globally, the average carbon footprint is closer to 4 tons. To have the best chance of avoiding a 2°C rise in global temperatures, the average global carbon footprint per year needs to drop to under 2 tons by 2050. 

As awareness of climate change grows, so does the desire to do something about it. However, the scale of the problems it causes can seem utterly overwhelming. It can be hard to make a connection between our everyday life and how we, as individuals, can help turn the situation around. Measuring your personal carbon footprint is a first way to gain a quantifiable understanding of our actions’ impacts, for good and bad.

Calculate your carbon footprint