What is the carbon footprint

The global carbon footprint refers to the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) that we release as a result of our actions and behavior, both as industry players and individuals.

Natural events can leave their own carbon footprint, especially if we talk about volcanic eruptions, for example. To learn more about how extreme natural phenomena affects our livelihood, check out Green Start-Up's article here.

One of the highest carbon footprints per person lies in the US, where each person can account for about 16 tons of climate-damaging gases. In the EU, the calculated carbon footprint is lower, at around 6.8 tons in 2019.

As a global average, a person leaves behind about 4 tons of carbon footprint and experts say that this must drop to below 2 tons by 2050 if we want to achieve our climate goals.

If you would like to estimate your carbon footprint based on your lifestyle choices and country of living, you can do so via the carbon calculator, a website that can help you determine which aspects of your life leave the most carbon behind.

What generates the most carbon footprint

There is no doubt that human actions are responsible for most of the carbon footprint that causes global warming and other disruptive events.

The energy and transportation sectors can be held accountable for releasing the most carbon dioxide, due to the fact that they still rely heavily on burning fossil fuels to function.

These industries are moving towards cleaner practices, such as renewable sources for energy production and even using EVs that are less polluting than regular cars, but we still have a long way until we can make these sectors fully sustainable.

Agriculture is another industry that is not responsible as much for carbon emissions, but mostly for methane emissions, generated by livestock.

While methane has a much lower lifespan in the atmosphere of about 20 years compared to carbon dioxide, it has the potential to warm the planet up around 80 times more, making it a very potent greenhouse gas.

The construction sector is also carbon intensive, especially as concrete, steel and asphalt are being made and used with high carbon footprints.

They also contribute to warmer cities, due to the fact that they absorb the heat and dissipate it around us, which can be felt during hot summer days in busy cities.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon footprint emissions

You've probably heard of scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and these are what industry members use in order to calculate their carbon footprint and what measures they need to take in order to decrease it.

Scope 1 emissions refer to carbon emissions generated directly by that particular company, so an energy company burning fossil fuels, for example, will have scope 1 emissions, because these are coming directly from its activity.

Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions resulted from the purchased energy resources that a company uses, such an office building that purchases electricity from a coal power plant.

This means that that particular office building has a high carbon footprint with regards to the scope 2 emissions.

To decrease its carbon footprint in this scope, the office building operator should resort to purchasing power from a less carbon-intensive energy provider, such as a nuclear power plant or a solar park, even if these sources are more costly.

Scope 3 emissions are also indirect and refer to those released by value chain representatives, such as various suppliers.

Take a car manufacturer, for example, who might purchase different sensors for its cars from another company, its supplier.

If the sensor maker uses fossil fuels to manufacture and transport the sensor devices to the car maker, then the latter will have a high scope 3 carbon footprint.

To lower it, it will either have to force the supplier to use cleaner energy for manufacturing and/or transport, or use a different company to supply the necessary sensors for its cars.

The carbon footprint of power sources

As stated, generating electricity is one of the most carbon intensive industries in the world, mostly because of the power sources that companies use to produce it.

As expected, the lowest carbon emitting resources are wind power, nuclear, hydro power and solar power, with a carbon footprint ranging from 12 grams of CO2 per kilowatt generated to 48 gCO2/kW.

At the other side of the spectrum, much more damaging, are natural gas, with a carbon footprint of 490 gCO2/kW, coal, at 820 gCO2/kW and oil power plants, which generate about 970 gCO2/kW of electricity.

This shows that energy companies must find ways to switch to renewables quicker in order to reduce a massive amount of our carbon footprint in a world that needs more and more electricity.

Using biomass as a power source is also more environmentally-friendly, as this resource has a carbon footprint that's still larger than renewables, at 230 gCO2/kW, but much smaller nonetheless when compared to using fossil-fuels alone.

How to reduce your carbon footprint

Now that we talked about what industry members can do in order to minimize their carbon footprint, let's see what steps we can take as individuals to do the same.

The first and easiest thing to do is to reduce our reliance on light bulbs when we have enough natural light coming from the outside or when we are leaving a particular room.

Lowering the ambient temperature, if you have control over it can also save you on your next bill, while also reducing the strain on the heating system, without sacrificing too much on the comfort side of things. Try to lower the temperature by increments of one degree Celsius until you find the optimal spot where you still feel ok with a few clothes.

Unplug unused appliances or electronics in general, as they will draw power, albeit little amounts, even when in standby.

All these, but other tips to reduce your carbon footprint and improve your energy efficiency in Green Start-Up's detailed article about becoming more energy efficient at home.

Lowering the carbon footprint is important, both for individuals, but especially for companies, as our impact on the planet can be much bigger than we think, even if we might not consume too much in our eyes.

Every little helps if we want to meet our climate goals and offer the next generations a cleaner future.