The carbon footprint (or carbon footprint) is the measure of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organization or community.The greater the ecological footprint, the heavier the impact on the environment.
Carbon dioxide traps the heat emitted by both the sun and the Earth’s surface and releases that heat into our atmosphere. Thus, the average surface temperature of the planet increases to intolerable levels and a number of harmful consequences are triggered.
The negative effects for life on Earth are many: increased frequency of intense, sudden and violent precipitation phenomena; decrease, melting and retreat of glaciers and therefore increase in sea level; acidification of water; increased drought, aridity and desertification; loss of biodiversity and mass extinction of species, food scarcity and greater economic inequality. And they are now felt in every corner of the world.
The standard unit for measuring the carbon footprint is the CO2 equivalent (CO2e), expressed in parts per million in volume. The idea is to express the impact of each different greenhouse gas by equating it to the volume of CO2 that would create the same amount of heating.
What causes the ecological footprint?
The ecological footprint of an individual is given by daily actions, purchasing habits and long-term life choices that shape our carbon emissions. The main components of an individual’s ecological footprint in developed countries are transportation, domestic energy use and meat consumption.
The ecological footprint of a company comes from the sum of the various types of emissions that a company produces:
- direct greenhouse gas emissions from installations located within the organization’s boundaries;
- indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the production of electricity, heat and steam imported and consumed by the organization;
- indirect emissions related to upstream or downstream activities of commercial operations, which are not under the direct control of the company, but are nevertheless the result of its activity.
Calculating the carbon footprint
There are several tools to calculate the carbon footprint for individuals, companies and other organizations.
To calculate your own carbon footprint as an individual, an excellent solution is an online calculator like the one made available by the WWF.
The test is presented as a series of questions based on criteria defined by the scientific community and international standards, which result in an estimate in CO2 equivalents per year. The test also reveals the relationship between the result and the world average.
To calculate the ecological footprint of a company, there is a specific standard: the criteria of ISO 14067 “Greenhouse gasses – Carbon footprint of products – Requirements and guidelines for quantification and Communication“.
Within the company, it is possible to distinguish between the ecological footprint of a product – therefore the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted over the entire life of the product – and the ecological footprint at the organizational level.
To measure the footprint of a single product, the standard suggests the life cycle analysis (LCA), a methodology that allows you to assess the impact on the overall environment of a product, taking into account its entire life cycle, from extraction and treatment of raw materials, manufacturing processes, transport, distribution, use, recycling and reuse and final disposal.
To measure the footprint of the company as a whole, the guiding criteria are:
- ISO 14064-1 specifies the requirements for the design and development of Organizations’ Greenhouse Gas Inventories;
- ISO 14064-2 defines the requirements for quantifying, monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas reductions and removals from the atmospheric compartment;
- ISO 14064-3 specifies requirements and guidelines for conducting validation and verification of information on greenhouse gasses (by certification bodies).
For a company, calculating and understanding the different areas of an ecological footprint is essential to give strength and credibility to the next steps in reducing emissions and financing climate action. The ultimate goal of calculating a company’s carbon footprint is always to take action to reduce them.
Reducing the ecological footprint by planting trees
To stop climate collapse and avoid its worst impacts, we need to do two main things: move to a low-carbon economy and protect our best natural allies in the fight against climate change – forests, grasslands, mangroves and tidal marshes, which hide large amounts of carbon. The role of plants, especially trees, is crucial in the carbon cycle and in mitigating the effects of climate change. The chlorophyll in the leaves absorbs solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into sugars, producing oxygen as a by-product. This process helps to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. However, deforestation and other human activities are affecting this balance.
Tree planting is a way that companies can choose to offset part or all of their carbon footprint. This is because, in quantifying the greenhouse gas emissions of an activity, the so-called carbon sinks must be subtracted from the sum of the emissions, that is all that has been done in the same period to absorb carbon. If they buy enough to compensate for their carbon footprint, they actually become neutral.
Regenerating the planet’s forest cover is part of so-called nature-based climate solutions. These solutions include improving land management to increase CO2 absorption. They offer multiple benefits, such as mitigating future climate impacts, food security and the fighting of soil degradation.
Clearly, creating a forest goes beyond simply planting individual trees. A forest constitutes a living and diverse ecosystem, with a biodiversity that coexists within it. In this sense, planting individual trees does not offer the same ecological value. To achieve significant benefits, it is important to consider the forest as a whole and plant the correct trees in the right environments.