What is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint is “the total set of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event or product” (UK Carbon Trust 2008).

A “carbon footprint” unit is expressed as grams of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt hour or generation (gCO2eq/kWh). Carbon footprints are an easy and common way to quantify greenhouse gas emissions.

Once the size of a carbon footprint is calculated, a strategy should then be devised to help reduce it.

Why should I reduce my carbon footprint?

The heat from the sun enters the earths atmosphere as visible light and heat escapes as infra-red radiation (inadvisable light). If the balance stays right, then the temperature of the Earth remains relatively constant, but since CO2 blocks infra-red, less heat is able to escape and the planet gets warmer.

The effects of Global warming are many and varied. The predictions include extreme weather events, an expansion of tropical diseases, changes in the timing of seasonal patterns in ecosystems and drastic economic impact.

Reducing a carbon footprint

Carbon footprints can be efficiently and effectively reduced by a number of steps, the most important of which follow-

Identification of potential hot spots in terms of energy consumption and the associated CO2 emissions.

Where possible, changing to another electricity company to switch to buying electricity from renewable sources (from wind turbines, solar panels or hydro-electrical plants -or- from nuclear power plants.

Optimisation of energy efficiency, therefore reducing CO2-emissions and other GHG emissions that contributed in the production process.

Identification of solutions to neutralise CO2 emissions that cannot be eliminated by other energy saving measures. This typically involves carbon offsetting which can be acted     upon by investing in projects that aim to reduce CO2 emissions, by means such as tree planting.

More information on CO2 can be found by visiting the Carbon Trust website.

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