Carbon Footprint 101
Not sure what a carbon footprint is, or how you can reduce it? You’re not alone.
**This is a complex topic with various branches associated with it. This post will act as an overview, with practical applicability to consumers and businesses alike. This article will cover:
Carbon Footprint Defined
Current State of Affairs
Carbon Consciousness
Sustainability & Business
What is a Carbon Footprint?
A carbon footprint tells the story of how a collection of harmful gases are released either directly, or indirectly into the atmosphere, resulting in the deterioration of our climate and acceleration of global warming.
The Environmental Protection Agency defines a carbon footprint as:
“The amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted into the atmosphere each year by a person, family, building, organization, or company and all processes associated with each of them...”
These greenhouse gases consist of carbon dioxide (80%), methane (10%), nitrous oxide (7%), and a family of fluorinated gases (3%). Carbon dioxide’s more significant presence in the atmosphere makes it the most targeted greenhouse gas by individuals, organizations and nations to reduce. The impact that these gases have on the climate depends on three major factors:
Concentration - the amount of gas in the atmosphere
Period - duration the gas stays in the atmosphere
Global Warming Potential - the amount of energy each gas absorbs
Nature and humans are two primary sources that release greenhouse gases. One significant distinction between the two is nature’s ability to act as a carbon sink and self-regulate the GHGs in our environment through our oceans, plants, and soil, keeping our planet healthy and stable. The table below provides a high-level overview of potential source points from both humans and nature alike:
Nature
Humans
Volcanos, Oceans, Animals, Wildfires, Decomposition
Transportation:
Cars, Motorbikes, Aeroplanes, Jets, Tanks, Trains, Trams, Buses, ships, etc.
Power Generation:
Coal & Gas power plants, Oil & Gas extraction and refinement
Buildings:
Commercial, Residential, Industrial
Agriculture:
Machinery, Livestock, Fertilizers, etc.
Manufacturing:
Construction Materials, Technology, Medical, Consumables, Clothing, Home/Office/Restaurant Decor
ETC
It is evident that our contribution to the carbon footprint far outweighs that of nature. However, not all is doom and gloom. With awareness and carbon consciousness, we can help do our part in managing and reducing our carbon footprint. With conscious choices and responsible actions, we can preserve our planet for future generations while enjoying what it provides.
Management
We say that growing awareness of GHG emissions and being conscious of our carbon footprint is vital for the wellbeing of our planet, people, and economy. That is, managing our carbon footprint size is the way forward in mitigating global warming. But what does this mean?
Global warming is a natural process that takes place to keep our planet warm and habitable. However, with our actions, we have accelerated the rate at which our world is warming up and caused adverse climate change events. We did this by creating a blanket of invisible gases known as greenhouse gases around the Earth’s atmosphere, which trap a larger volume of outgoing radiation from Earth to space than usual. The size of this blanket depends on all our carbon footprints, and that is why knowing and managing our footprints is essential in tackling this process, known as the enhanced greenhouse effect, which is the root cause of the global climate change issue.
If we continue to ignore our carbon footprint and global calls for action against climate change, we could expect a few of the following (but not limited to):
A rise in sea levels from the melting of glaciers, resulting in frequent floods
Irregular and unpredictable rainfall that damages plant and agricultural growth
Inconsistent seasons with scorching summers and freezing winters
State of Affairs:
For the last decade, the rate of global greenhouse gas emissions has constantly increased, with the latest number standing at 59.1 gigatonnes (59,100,000,000 tonnes!) of carbon dioxide equivalents as of 2019. A carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) means the equivalent number of metric tons of CO2 emissions as converted from a different greenhouse gas with a different global warming potential. For example, methane is 24x more potent than carbon dioxide, therefore its CO2e would be 24x more than the same amount of CO2. It is a tool used to standardize our understanding of GHGs.
With the pandemic outbreak in 2020, carbon dioxide-related GHG emissions are projected to fall between 2-12% last year (data has not yet been released), a more prominent reduction than the 0.9% carbon dioxide emissions reduction during the financial crisis. This reduction in emissions can be due to many reasons including, but not limited to significant reductions in travel, the closing of a large number of industrial processes and operations, and reductions in power productions required to run everything. This reduction has led to the occurrence of unexpected and beautiful events such as the visibility of the Himalayan mountain range for the first time in 30 years in Punjab, India from clearer skies, the colour of Cox’s Bazar sea beach returning to normal from its turbid state due to a decrease in tourists in Bangladesh, and reduction in air pollution in New York by almost half. However, the ability to maintain these reductions looks slim as things begin to resume. Though only temporary relief, the pandemic proved that reductions have tangible benefits, reinforcing the idea that our ability to achieve our global 2030 targets depends upon our actions.
Locally, we as Canadians produced 730 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2019, the same amount of CO2 emissions from charging 80 trillion smartphones. Globally as of 2020, there are only 3.6 billion smartphones! 2016 saw Canada’s first-ever national climate plan (PAN Canadian framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change) in response to our inclusion in the Paris Climate Agreement. This framework is designed to help us achieve our national 2030 goal of 30% reduction of GHG levels from 2005 levels. In December of last year, the federal government released a strengthened plan, ‘A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy,’ and earlier this year, Justin Trudeau pledged to not only meet our 2030 goals but blow past them. These significant reductions in our emissions, though ambitious, can be attainable with our contribution as consumers, businesses, and individuals of the nation.
Carbon Consciousness
We, as a society, need to become aware of our contributions to the carbon footprint issue, to actively start taking steps in reducing and avoiding detrimental actions to the environment. Awareness is essential for change, and perhaps with sufficient awareness, carbon could become the new calorie! Before every action, we consider how much greenhouse gas we are generating into the environment and whether this is at maintenance, surplus, or a deficit level. Just like our diets to keep healthy!
Our contributions to solving this issue can come in multiple ways, including but not limited to:
the way we travel
the food we consume
the products and services we purchase
Following reduce, reuse, and recycling practices
Our electricity and heating consumption
It is easy to tell people to be aware and make sustainable choices that reduce their carbon footprint. But, without really understanding what to look for in determining our carbon footprint, how much progress can we expect? To help support your pursuit of sustainability and reduction of your personal carbon footprint, let us walk through some components and processes to look for which can influence carbon size:
Components that should influence your choices:
Recyclability - Favour products that have the ability to be recycled (cradle-to-cradle) over single-use (cradle-to-grave).
Reusability - Products that can be reused reduce our footprint by indirectly reducing emissions which can arise from all processes involved in producing, selling, and transporting a new product.
Geography - Look to support local products and businesses with a sustainable mandate can reduce your carbon footprint by reducing the emissions involved with transporting the products to their final destination. Next time you’re thinking of buying something from China, take a quick google to see what’s close to home!
Packaging - More packaging means more emissions. Support zero to minimal packaging or packaging material that is recycled, recyclable, upcycled, or biodegradable.
• Aluminium cans are infinitely recyclable, compared to plastic which degrades each time it is recycled.
• Paper (65%) metals (32%) and glass (31%) are the most recyclable in Canada, with plastic recycling coming in at 9%
• Loop’s reusable food product containers
• Refillable aluminium or glass water bottles
• Businesses which have and support take back programs (Greenhouse Juice)
• The rise of Refilleries (Saponetti, eco + amour etc)
• Good Juju - Canadian, all natural, plastic-free home and body products
• Nature Knows - Canadian, bio-plastic packaged fruit & veg snacks.
• Province of Canada - organic and ethical clothing, manufactured in Canada.
• Less Waste Co. - Refillable containers which reduce plastic and waste in packaging
• Unboxed Market - First zero-waste store in Toronto, for all grocery needs
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When we understand our carbon footprint, it is easier to reduce. Like calories, it becomes a trade-off: If I eat this donut, I’ll have to work out later. In terms of carbon, it’s harder to do, since we’re still understanding which processes are good compliments. A couple are:
Diet - Livestock production produces roughly 18% of global GHG emissions. We can lower this statistic by reducing our meat consumption per day, per week or per month as per our convenience. This may require a shift to a flexitarian diet which involves the consumption of legumes and meat.
Transportation - As of 2020, transportation accounts for 24% of total global CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. We can increase our use of public transports over private transportation, or we can increase the amount we walk or cycle to our destination.
Browsing/Streaming - Our gadgets, internet servers and support systems account for around 3.7% of global GHG emissions. We should reduce our web browsing times, turn off our appliances and chargers when not in use, and practice purchasing only necessary gadgets. When in doubt, get outside!
Everyday Chores - Changes to routine habits such as washing dishes, doing laundry, bathing, turning on lights and watching television contributes to your footprint. These use gas boilers/electricity/products which all have footprints. Look for zero-waste products, and minimize use.
There are many available alternatives you can adopt into your everyday life. Greenvine’s mission is to help you identify the businesses, products and practices that will reduce carbon output! Follow us on IG @greenvine.sustainable for more tips.
Sustainability & Business
With growing awareness of global warming and increasing demand from customers to act responsibly, businesses are taking responsibility for their actions. Thus, giving rise to ‘Environmental and Social Governance,’ commonly referred to as ESG practices. Current environmental practices have given rise to carbon reduction pledges - The Climate Pledge is one of the many global voluntary calls for businesses to act against climate change. One hundred and ten signatories have signed the pledge and committed to becoming net-zero carbon by 2040. A few recognizable names include: Amazon, Unilever, Mercedes-Benz, Visa, Heinekin, PepsiCo and more.
The end goal of these pledges is for business to either reduce emissions or find ways to mitigate emissions by investing in carbon offsets, carbon sequestration or growing trees to act as natural carbon sinks. An organization going above and beyond by finding ways to be carbon negative (removal of the emissions already present in the atmosphere) is Karbon Brewing, a Canadian brewery.
With ESG becoming more prominent in the current business landscape, it is an essential tool to incorporate into the business culture to ensure survivability in the long run. Pledges, frameworks and accords provide the structure that has previously been missing to act as a benchmarking tool. They also help to verify the actions taken by a company, so as to avoid greenwashing. With 64% of consumers being willing to pay more for sustainable products, but most (74%) unsure of how how to identify them, greenwashing is a big concern. Being transparent, honest, and verifiable makes genuinely sustainable businesses stand out.
The idea that only large businesses with large executive teams and customer bases can practice sustainability is misidentified. Consider the fact that 97.9% of businesses in Canada are considered to be small businesses. If size mattered, we wouldn’t see much change, would we?
Regardless of size, industry, and customer base, we all have a carbon footprint and we can all take steps to reduce this. It all starts with good leadership, communication, and engagement. Here are a few steps below on how you can incorporate a GHG reduction pathway into your business:
Start looking into your supply chain, processes, and operations and identifying all your sources of GHG emissions.
Define the scope of reductions possible for your business now.
Calculate and find your accurate carbon footprint.
Create an organization-wide goal or target to reduce your carbon footprint within a realistic timeline using online tools such as SBTi
Ensure that all employees are aware of this goal or target and motivated to help your business achieve these goals.
Measure and report on your progress towards your goal with accurate and verifiable metrics.
Maintain a transparent system where possible with your customers.
Let your customers know what you are doing and use proper terminology for your marketing to avoid greenwashing.
Everyone needs to do a part in helping to solve our carbon problem, but with growing consciousness and awareness, we can hope to achieve our global and national targets for 2030 and onward. Greenvine Sustainable can help your business transition to carbon-neutral. Get in touch today.
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