How Do I Calculate My Carbon Footprint, and Why Does It Matter?

The state of the global climate and the effects its warming will have on daily living has been a topic of discussion spanning decades. Moreover, recent discourse only demonstrates how crucial it now is to mitigate and reverse- as much as possible- the damage we have done to our environment. That is why there are numerous calls for everyone in the world to start paying closer attention to their carbon footprint.

What Is A Carbon Footprint?

A carbon footprint measures the greenhouse gasses an individual’s or corporation’s activities release into the atmosphere. Numerous factors affect the ‘size’ of your carbon footprint. Most of them relate to your lifestyle and seemingly mundane choices you make throughout an ordinary day.

Why Does Calculating Your Carbon Footprint Matter?

Calculating your carbon footprint is an awareness exercise. It helps you identify and keep track of your home’s energy spending with the intention to make changes needed to live a more eco-conscious lifestyle.

What Factors Affect Your Carbon Footprint?

Several aspects of daily living affect your carbon footprint. Your awareness of them also helps you keep track by providing a tool to calculate your footprint. These factors include: 

Your eating habits- how much meat do you consume? How often do you go to restaurants? Do you source your food locally? How much is your food waste?

Your energy consumption.

Another thing to consider is your lifestyle- how often do you travel? Is it mostly by road or by air? What are your vehicle’s emissions ratings? Have you established a home recycling plan? Do you use available recycling facilities when away from home? How often do you purchase new appliances, furniture or clothes?

When you become more aware of your carbon footprint, you can also find ways to make it smaller. This notion then brings us to the question you may be having in mind: how do I calculate my carbon footprint?

Read on for some answers.

Calculating Your Carbon Footprint

The primary advantage of increased consciousness is that calculating your carbon footprint is easy. So you don’t have to worry about utilising complex or forgotten math skills and poring over reams of paper to do so. Instead, you only have to complete a questionnaire containing targeted questions.

There are various versions of this questionnaire, and you will find it on numerous websites. While the wording varies, the questions all follow a deductive theme. Here, you may respond to queries that probe the factors affecting your carbon footprint. An algorithm then uses your responses to calculate and present results for your energy report.

Additionally, different resources offer differing report levels. Therefore, you can use the WWF carbon footprint calculator for a general report. This questionnaire is easy to fill thus more basic. 

Alternatively, for a more detailed report, the Carbon Neutral footprint calculator will give you more insight on your household energy usage based on several categories like electricity and gas consumption as well as waste generation.

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

Once you get an insight into your carbon footprint, don’t leave it at that. Instead, take steps toward reducing it, including more conscious energy consumption using alternative sources, reducing household waste, and opting for walking, cycling or public transport instead of private cars.

Gaining awareness of your carbon footprint and taking the appropriate steps to reduce are the first steps towards a more ecologically conscious life.