You are on page 1of 19

HISTORY OF CARBON

FOOTPRINT?
 A carbon footprint has historically been defined as the
total set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused
by an organization, event, product or person.
 It is probably an extension of the concept of
"ecological footprints" developed by the ecologist
William Rees at the University of British Columbia in
the early 1990s. Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, executive
director of the Global Footprint Network, states that
the phrase "carbon footprint" received "its biggest
boost in 2005 through an enormous BP media
campaign on the carbon footprint.
WHAT IS CARBON FOOTPRINT?
 The total amount of greenhouse gases produced
to directly and indirectly support human
activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of
carbon dioxide (CO2).
 Your carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions
of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which were induced by
your activities in a given time frame. Usually a
carbon footprint is calculated for the time period
of a year.
BASIC CALCULATION
Fuel Unit CO2 emitted per unit

Petrol 1 liter 2.3 kg


Gasoline 1 liter 2.3 kg
Diesel 1 liter 2.7 kg
Oil (heating) 1 liter 3.0 kg

If your car consumes 7.5 liter diesel per 100 km, then a
drive of 300 km distance consumes 3 x 7.5 = 22.5 liter
diesel, which adds 22.5 x 2.7 kg = 60.75 kg CO2 to your
personal carbon footprint.
 Each of the following activities add 1 kg of CO2 to your
personal carbon footprint:

 Travel by public transportation (train or bus) a distance of 10


to 12 km (6.5 to 7 miles)
 Drive with your car a distance of 6 km or 3.75 miles (assuming
7.3 litres petrol per 100 km or 39 mpg)
 Fly with a plane a distance of 2.2 km or 1.375 miles.

 Operate your computer for 32 hours (60 Watt consumption


assumed)
 Production of 5 plastic bags

 Production of 2 plastic bottles

 Production of 1/3 of an American cheeseburger


PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CARBON FOOTPRINTS
• Primary carbon footprints -which have a direct relation with the
way we burn fossil fuels directly.
• This category includes our transportation sources such as railways,
road transport as well as aviation.
• It also includes electricity consumption for energy produced using
sources such as coal and natural gas. Water consumption is also an
integral part.
• secondary carbon footprints- includes the emissions which result
from our indirect relation to the points mentioned above such as
purchasing clothes which are shipped from a far away location.
• The emissions from their manufacture and transportation are
counted as a part of secondary carbon footprints.
• It also considers what happens to these products once we no longer
use them - such as the time and possibility of decomposition
naturally. (Plastic products score very poorly here.) It also includes
recyclability and reusability of the products.
Product Carbon Footprint
• The life of a product sees a lot of changes happening to it
on a chemical and physical level.
• This process of being conceptualized to being used by the
consumer, and ultimately ending up being discarded and
consumed, has a definite cost associated with it in terms
of emissions.
• Hence, the total carbon emissions over the life cycle of a
product are termed as product carbon footprint (PCF).
• The product carbon footprint encompasses both primary
and secondary carbon footprints, and takes into account
each and every step.
• The standards governing PCF calculations include
the GHG protocol adopted in 2011, the PAS 2050
(revised) and the newly revised ISO 14067:2018.
Corporate Carbon Footprint
• The corporate carbon footprint covers a much wider base of
activities, since it considers the entire business as a whole
and calculates carbon emissions for the whole setup.
• From the manufacturing of all of its products to them being
discarded and disposed off, it is a comprehensive stock-
taking of the corporation’s carbon liability.
• All the activities which the company performs, including
transportation of goods, business trips, cumulative energy
expenditure, and the company’s recycling strategy are
considered under the company’s carbon footprint.
• Standards taken into account include the GHG Protocol and
certain ISO standards related to carbon emissions and
energy auditing.
WHAT IS GHG?
 Greenhouse gases are those that can absorb and emit
infrared radiation . In order, the most abundant
greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are:
 Carbon dioxide is a so called greenhouse gas causing
global warming . Other greenhouse gases which might
be emitted as a result of your activities are e.g. methane
and ozone. These greenhouse gases are normally also
taken into account for the carbon footprint. They are
converted into the amount of CO2 that would cause the
same effects on global warming (this is called equivalent
CO2 amount).
 The carbon footprint is a very powerful tool to understand
the impact of personal behaviour on global warming.
CO2 emissions from India
MAIN EFFECTS
Climate Change
 Climate change is the ultimate effect of large carbon footprints.
Greenhouse gases, whether natural or human-produced, contribute to
the warming of the planet. From 1990 to 2005, carbon dioxide
emissions increased by 31 percent. By 2008, the emissions had
contributed to a 35 percent increase in radiative warming, or a shift in
Earth's energy balance toward warming, over 1990 levels.
Depletion of Resources
 Large carbon footprints deplete resources on large and small scales,
from a country's deforestation activities to one home's increased use of
air conditioning. The more those with large carbon footprints use
resources, the more greenhouse gases increase and spur further climate
change
INTERNATIONAL
 L’Oréal sites around the world are contributing to the group's
ambitious greenhouse gas reduction target:
 North Little Rock, Arkansas factory completed a
hydropower agreement in 2009 to halve its GHG
emissions.
 Warehouse in Mexico City has one of the largest solar installations
in Latin America, and expects to reduce equivalent CO2 emissions
by 54 tonnes a year.
 Yichang factory in China has installed 2,000 solar tubes for the
preheating of water, which will reduce CO2 emissions by more than
5.3 tonnes a year.
 Factory in Burgos (Spain) has made a public commitment to be
carbon neutral by 2015 by using green technologies including
solar arrays, bio-fuel and geothermal energy.
INDIA
 L'Oreal's plant in Pune uses solar heating to preheat wash water,
saving 93 tonnes of CO2 per year, or 6% of total energy use. There
are 320 solar panels spread over 920m2.
CARBON FOOTPRINT
CALCULATOR
Technology based energy savings
The following is a list of items that may take an initial
investment, but should pay for themselves through savings
on your energy bills.
• Fit energy saving light bulbs - LEDs can save 90% of
lighting energy costs
• Install thermostatic valves on your radiators
• Insulate your hot water tank
• Install cavity wall installation
• Install 180mm thick loft insulation
• Replace your old refrigerator / freezer (if it is over 15
years old), with a new one with energy efficiency rating
of "A++"
• Replace your old boiler with a new energy efficient
condensing boiler
Travel less and travel more carbon footprint
friendly 
• Car share to work or for the kids school run
• Use the bus or a train rather than your car
• For short journeys; walk or cycle
• Try to reduce the number of flights you take
• See if your employer will allow you to work from
home one day a week
• Next time you replace your car - make sure you
choose a low emission vehicle. If you have the
budget, consider getting a hybrid or full electric car.
• When staying in a hotel - turn the lights and air-
conditioning off when you leave your hotel room, and
ask for your room towels to be washed every other
day, rather than every day
secondary footprint caused by your
purchasing habits
• Don't buy bottled water if your tap water is safe to
drink
• Buy local fruit and vegetables, or even try growing
your own
• Buy foods that are in season locally
• Don't buy fresh fruit and vegetables which are out of
season, they may have been flown in
• Reduce your consumption of meat
• Try to only buy products made close to home (look
out and avoid items that are made in the distant lands)
• Buy organic produce
• Don't buy over packaged products
• Recycle as much as possible
CONCLUSION
 We should
take
carbon
measures to
footprint
shorten our
by reducing emission
the greenhouse gases
of
mainly carbon dioxide.

You might also like