How to Calculate Carbon Footprint?
The daily habits of people or the standard operation of a factory have a greatly impact on future generations. There is a carbon emission caused by eating meat in a restaurant or the production process of a mobile phone. This carbon stored in the atmosphere causes the earth’s temperature to increase. One of the first steps to be taken to prevent the world from getting warmer every day and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to analyze the process by measuring the carbon footprint.
What is Carbon Footprint?
Carbon footprint, a measure of the impact of human activities on the environment and climate, shows the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions emitted into the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels for electricity generation, heating or transport. Carbon emissions are not only caused by the burning of fossil fuels. For example, animals on farms also produce significant amounts of greenhouse gases. Calculating the amount of carbon footprint produced by individuals, companies, cities or states is important for planning the measures that can be taken. Carbon footprint should also be considered an important concept in terms of determining how much impact human activities have on global warming.
How to Calculate Carbon Footprint?
Carbon footprint measurement is carried out on different scales, by evaluating various factors. Thus, the calculation of carbon footprint is a bit complicated. In fact, it is not possible to directly give a clear carbon footprint result. The resulting values are usually estimated and approximate.
The main reference used in carbon footprint calculations are the guidelines and tools prepared by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). For example, to calculate the carbon footprint of a country, factors such as the amount of fossil fuels consumed, the value of industrial production, the total amount of electricity that is produced, the number of animals raised and the distribution of total land area between urban, forest and agricultural areas are considered.
Carbon footprint calculations also include factors that reduce carbon emissions. For instance, the total carbon absorbed by trees or forest areas planted by people, companies or countries is subtracted from the amount of carbon emissions. In the conversion tables published by the IPCC, diesel fuels are calculated in liters, methane in cubic meters, plantations in hectares, and forested areas in square kilometers.
Carbon Footprint Calculation for Companies
Three scopes have been defined for calculating a company’s carbon footprint. These can be explained as follows:
- Scope 1: Emissions that directly result from sources owned or controlled by the company. This includes fuel consumption, heating or equipment used for production, and internal waste facilities.
- Scope 2: Indirect emissions from the energy purchased by the company for purposes such as lighting and other needs.
- Scope 3: These are other indirect greenhouse gas emissions. This broad and challenging scope includes emissions arising from processes such as the transportation of raw materials used in production, employee business travel, and the disposal or recycling of produced goods.
The data to be considered may vary depending on the industry in which the company operates. For instance, a technology company dealing with large data storage needs to calculate the carbon footprint of its cloud storage and the total energy consumed by its servers. Conversely, for livestock farms, factors such as the amount of manure or pesticides used should be considered.
How to Calculate Product Carbon Footprint
Product carbon footprint calculation uses a method known as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This method calculates the total greenhouse gas emissions a product generates throughout its entire life cycle. The life cycle includes processes such as raw material extraction, processing, use by the consumer, and disposal or recycling at the end of its life.
Here are some average carbon footprints for various products:
- Cotton T-shirt: 4 kg
- Tablet: 50 kg
- Microwave Oven: 80 kg
- Laptop: 350 kg
- Luxury SUV: 26 tons
- One kilogram of beef: 60 kg
Today, the manufacturing sector is responsible for approximately 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, 54% of the world’s energy resources are consumed by the manufacturing sector. To accurately calculate the product carbon footprint, up-to-date data should be used. For example, a company transitioning to renewable energy sources will have a progressively lower carbon footprint for its products, so such factors should be considered in the calculations.
How to Calculate Your Personal Carbon Footprint?
When calculating your personal carbon footprint, the amount you consume and the activities you perform are considered. This includes factors such as the size of your home, how you heat or light it, the volume of gas you consume and much more. For example, knowing how much of your household electricity comes from fossil fuels and how much from renewable energy sources will help you calculate your carbon footprint more accurately.Transportation parameters such as frequency of public transport use, how often you fly or travel by train, and how far you travel in a fossil fuel vehicle are also taken into account in the calculation.
Another factor is food consumption and shopping habits. The amount of meat you consume, the frequency of consuming fruits that are not grown in your country and have long logistics processes, the frequency of purchasing products with plastic packaging, the waste disposal methods you use, and the amount of waste you recycle are all included in the carbon footprint calculations. Knowing how much you spend on non-food purchases also helps you estimate your carbon footprint more accurately.
Carbon Footprint by Country
According to data from the Global Carbon Project and World Population Review, in 2022, China leads with an annual carbon emission of 12,677,000 tons, accounting for 32.88% of global carbon emissions. The United States ranks second, India third, and Russia fourth. According to EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research), Turkey’s carbon emissions for 2022 amount to 481,247 tons, which represents 1.24% of the global total and places Turkey at the 13th position on the list.
Calculate Your Corporate Carbon Footprint with QuickCarbon!
Accurately calculating a company’s corporate footprint today can help develop the right strategies to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. Reducing carbon emissions can both make your business more sustainable and improve your company’s reputation.
OuickCarbon, our user-friendly software developed for calculating corporate carbon footprints, provides solutions for measurement and reporting according to ISO 14064-1:2018 Standard and GHG Protocol. With QuickCarbon, you can calculate your corporate carbon footprint and start taking the right steps toward a more livable future.