Are you ready to learn your impact, take action to lower your impact, and find support for yourself on this journey?
Then let’s get started…
Carbon Footprint Calculators
You may have heard the term Carbon Footprint before. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, carbon footprint means the amount of greenhouse gases and specifically carbon dioxide emitted by something (such as a person’s activities or a product’s manufacture and transport) during a given period. Other sources of emissions that add to your carbon footprint include food waste, home and water heating, and air travel.
Below are links to some of the best carbon footprint calculators, but here’s a simple way to do it without the math:
| Area of Residence | Annual Tons of C02 Emitted |
| Average American, Australian or Middle Easterner’s carbon footprint | 16 tons[1] |
| Average European or Chinese | 7 tons |
| Average Latin American | 5 tons[2] |
| Average Indian and other Asians | 1.5 tons |
| Average African | less than 1 ton |
Pick the footprint that’s closest to your lifestyle and double it (OK, so you do have to do a little math!) to account for the products you buy, in addition to your own direct emissions from your electricity use and vehicle travel, etc. Now go to Step 2 to “Take Action”!
OR…
Use one of the carbon footprint calculators listed below to be more accurate in your calculation so you can see what parts of your lifestyle are responsible for the greatest carbon emissions. This makes it easier to reduce those practices when you move on to Step 2 “Take Action”.
- Berkeley’s CoolClimate Calculator
- CarbonFootprint.com
- Global Footprint Network
- Terra Pass
- The Nature Conservancy
- US EPA
If you like quantifying actions, here are some other calculators to help you understand your impacts in other areas.
Flight Calculator
Flying uses a lot of energy and is a huge contributor to climate change. This calculator lets you determine the carbon footprint of your flight as well as the amount required to offset your flight.
Plastic Calculators
Plastic pollution is a major environmental problem we face in our lifetime. If we want to make a change, first we must determine how much plastic we are using. Before we can make a change, we must become aware of our actions.
Additional Calculator
This calculator incorporates your climate impact depending upon your zip code, and allows you to compare it to the “Average American”. At the end, it allows you to purchase offsets as a voluntary “carbon tax”.
[1] https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/