How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

What is a carbon footprint?

Carbon footprint is not a new term, and everybody knows that it is something we collectively need to work towards reducing. However, can you explain what a carbon footprint is to someone who has no idea? Can you convince your colleagues, employees, or family and friends to make an effort to reduce their carbon footprint? We found that people are highly reluctant to answer these questions with a yes, and we know that explaining environmental concepts can be difficult. So we'll take it from the beginning and strengthen your hand by explaining what a carbon footprint is and follow up with ways to reduce it.

In a nutshell, carbon footprint refers to the total amount of greenhouse gasses (including carbon dioxide and methane) produced from individuals, organizations, or communities' actions over a set period. An excellent dictionary entry, isn't it? Let's dig into what carbon footprint actually means, how it affects our world and why it is important.

You or your organization's carbon footprint, aka the amount of greenhouse gas produced by you or the organization's actions, contributes to the size of the greenhouse effect on the planet. The greenhouse effect is quite a literal term as it makes the Earth's atmosphere warm enough for people to live. The process occurs when green gasses trap the Sun's heat in the atmosphere and keep it warm. Therefore, it is actually not a bad thing; it is what makes our Earth inhabitable for us. On the other hand, the danger here is the amount of greenhouse gasses at work. As the atmosphere can't return the heat from its surface back to the planet, the more greenhouse gas emissions on the Earth result in a warmer atmosphere than living creatures can handle.  

Why is it important to know your carbon footprint?

Given that individuals' and organizations' carbon footprints are one of the main reasons for increasing greenhouse gas emissions, the importance of learning and raising awareness of carbon footprint makes itself pretty obvious. Knowing the root of a problem is an excellent start toward solving it. Thus, knowing which of your actions or your organization's practices create higher carbon footprints helps you and your team to control those actions hence, the carbon footprint. Your carbon footprint on a personal level is mainly determined by your daily activities and lifestyle, including:  

• How you commute

• Your travel habits

• Energy use

• Consumption of products and services

• Eating habits 

On the other hand, greenhouse emissions that businesses and organizations create consist of various resources. The first thing that comes to mind while thinking about the carbon footprint of companies is usually the energy; however, it is known that businesses' energy systems cause less than half of their carbon footprint. So, let's look at where the rest come from:  

• The technique of extracting and processing raw materials used in the products.

• Transportation systems are in place to deliver products to the selling points and end users. 

• The way their employees reach the workplace and the customers get to the stores.

• The lifetime of the product they produce and how biodegradable, reusable, and recyclable they are.

Things are more complicated on an organizational level; however, with the small changes you make in your life on a personal level, not only will you lower your carbon footprint but you'll also set an example for your family and friends. The impact you can have on others is the reason behind the importance of knowing a great deal about your carbon footprint and discussing this confidently. The change starting from a personal level from many people will undoubtedly ignite the change on the business side in the long term. The best way is to consider your carbon footprint as your impact on the Earth and start making changes. It doesn't matter how small or significant the changes you've intended to or managed to make are. In the end, they all positively affect a reduction of your carbon footprint. Keep reading to find out the biggest causes of carbon footprint and how to minimize it in different areas of your life; home, school, and workplace.  

How do you measure carbon emissions?

Your carbon footprint includes many world-warming greenhouse gasses apart from carbon dioxides, such as methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gasses. The measurement of carbon emission simply estimates the total emission volume of those greenhouse gasses. However, to make the measures clear and streamlined, the results are expressed in carbon dioxide equivalency, for instance, 5 tons of CO2 equivalent. This allows businesses, industries, and countries to compare their activities directly and in a straightforward fashion without any complications.  

Given the complexity of the elements contributing to carbon emission on either personal or organizational levels, measuring it is not an easy task. On the other hand, measuring carbon emissions is essential for businesses. As mentioned above, so many factors affect their carbon footprint, and it is almost impossible to calculate their impact on the climate without measuring it. Large companies usually get help from carbon consultants, whereas small businesses use detailed carbon footprint calculators. Even if you can't get the most accurate calculator, it is vital to have a broad idea about your contribution to greenhouse emissions to know where to start. Knowing and being transparent about their actual CO2 effect would also lead big corporations to run carbon offsetting projects such as restoring forests and making energy and transportation more efficient. However, it is better to remember that carbon offsetting could and should be the only small portion of any company's greenhouse gas emissions-reducing efforts. The main focus should always be to avoid creating and causing excessive carbon emissions in the first place.  

On a personal level, it is more important to act to reduce it than to put effort into measuring it. However, if you are curious, some easy-to-use online calculators or slightly more complicated ones are still available for personal use. It is helpful to have a general idea about the average carbon footprint for a person to be able to interpret your results from a carbon footprint calculator. The average carbon footprint for a person in the United States is one of the world's highest rates, at 16 tons of CO2 equivalent a year. On the other hand, a person's global average carbon footprint is closer to 4 tons of CO2 equivalent a year. You can also check how much CO2 the average person emits in your country and your country's gas and emission profile on Our World in Data. 

When measuring your carbon footprint, it is better to remember that your carbon emission is highly tied to your lifestyle and the area you live in. Furthermore, the same actions reducing the emission are not equally accessible and effective for everyone. Thus, just try your best and find ways to reduce your carbon footprint.  

What are the biggest causes of a carbon footprint?

It is well-known that 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This, of course, proves a point that the small and effective changes those companies make would enormously reduce greenhouse emissions on a worldwide scale. However, the danger here is to hide behind this statement and think that you can't make any changes as an individual or a small company. Here is another piece of industry-based data, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2020 report, the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions are respectively transportation, electricity production, industry, commercial and residential, agriculture and land use, and forestry. EPA's report is valuable for revealing where you and your company can make substantial changes by opting for more carbon-efficient solutions in various aspects of business practices and daily routines.  

On the other hand, food consumption, transportation, and household energy would also rank top three in personal choices and daily routines, significantly affecting individuals' carbon footprint. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and household energy primarily comes from burning fossil fuels. On top of fossil fuel use, home energy consumption is highly tied to the house's insulation and sealing quality. Moreover, the greenhouse gas emissions related to food consumption are associated with food transportation, pesticide use and purchasing food out of season. 

Listing the biggest causes of your or your company's high carbon footprint might not be that pleasant. However, even just addressing these issues provides insight on which course of action to take to minimize the carbon footprint in the areas mentioned above. Don't worry if you don't know how; we'll cover you with simple, practicable ideas to reduce your carbon footprint. 

How to reduce your carbon footprint?

There are many ways to reduce your carbon footprint. These include using sustainable transport, recycling, reusing, composting, making smart food choices, reducing water usage, and many more. However, here we'll divide the changes you can make in your daily life into the main areas you or your family members spend their lives to give you more practical ideas.  

How to reduce your carbon footprint at home?

• Check the insulation of your house to find out if your home needs better insulation or sealing. 

• Opt for renewable energy where possible. It is always a good idea to shop around what the energy providers offer and see if there is any other option more eco-friendly than you currently use.

• Next time you need to buy an electrical appliance for your house, try to choose among more energy-efficient options. The devices with high star ratings might be slightly more expensive than the lower star rated ones; however, remember that you'll be paying less for energy during their lifetime. 

• Always be conscious while using water, and ask yourself if you need that tap running at any moment. If you have kids, you can create fun stickers and reminder notes for your bathroom and kitchen to create awareness for them too.

• While shopping, check where your products come from and always choose the less traveled one. Also, remember that packaged foods are bad for your health and the Earth, so try to stock up on less packaged foods and create a fresh and raw food culture at home. 

How to reduce your carbon footprint at school?

• Create a space to discuss the measures people take to reduce their carbon footprint. These conversations can take place among colleagues, students, or friends. And will raise awareness within the community and encourage people to take action.

• Check if the computers are switched off while leaving your computer lab or desk.

• Demand your school canteen to use local food and make a habit of questioning the sources of fruits and vegetables used in your food. You can even create an initiative responsible for accessing this data and keeping it open to the school community.

• Try to stick to the local area while planning trips as much as possible. This will allow you and your pupils to lessen their carbon footprint and learn more about the surrounding area they are interacting with.  

How to reduce your carbon footprint at your workplace?

• Ditch printing; it is old school; use your company's server and other digital channels to share and collaborate with colleagues more frequently. 

• Cycle or walk to your office if it is possible. If you have time constraints, try to do it at least once, a couple of days a week, or only one way. If you have a longer commute in which walking and cycling are not options, try to use a means of public transport or carpooling. Opting for a communal mode of transport would increase fuel efficiency. 

• It is easy to dump everything in a bin during hectic office days. However, starting a reusable paper tray is as simple as dedicating a container under your desk for your recyclables. Consider these options as a part of your own office reduce, reuse, recycle policy.

• Get yourself a reusable water bottle for your desk or an office jug and mug! This way, you won't need to use single-use plastic or paper cups every time you need a sip of water.

• Make sure to turn the lights off in meeting rooms when not in use. This sounds so simple; however, for the areas where people share responsibility, these small things are easy to forget and pass on, so be the one and turn them off. The same goes for computer screens; turn them off when you are not using them. Do you know that even dimming your screen light will allow you to save some energy during the day?

Conclusion

Reducing your carbon footprint is easier than you think; you don't need gadgets or tools. All you need to do is to increase your awareness and change your habits. Along the way, you might need to unlearn some things you think are OK. However, know that what you're doing is for a greater, common good for your today and humanity's tomorrow. You can also be the one to lead the change in your company and raise awareness among colleagues or employees. You can even change the way certain business practices are run in the day-to-day. If you are curious to find out what actions your company can take to reduce its carbon footprint, you can get help from Integine's directory, where you can find carbon experts specialized in various industries. 

Tags: carbon footprint, reduce, recycle, reuse, carbon emissions, GHG, greenhouse gas emissions