Carbon footprint in simple terms is a measure of impact of your day to day activities on the environment. The impact on the environment can be measured in terms of the amount of green house gases produced by your daily activities, which are measured in units of carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon footprint can be linked to individuals, companies and nations.
There are several websites which can help you calculate your carbon footprint. You can calculate the carbon footprint of your last flight to Chicago or your most recent car rental. You can measure your carbon footprint by clicking here.
The national average carbon footprint is 7.5 tons of CO2 per year.
It is very encouraging to see that leading corporations across the world are committing to reduce their carbon footprint, and have made it a part of their corporate sustainability programs. There is substantial effort going on to bring together Fortune 1000 corporations, international and domestic companies, and small- and medium-sized businesses interested in reducing their organizations carbon footprint.
P&G has a goal to reduce its carbon footprint 40% by 2012. P&G's liquid laundry detergents, which are now half the size they were two years ago, do the same number of washloads.
Wal-Mart, a multi-billion dollar corporation and the largest retailer in the world, pledged to reduce its carbon footprint by removing products from its shelves that contribute to global warming.
What are carbon offsets?
Carbon offsets are one of the many ways by which one can reduce his carbon footprint. Many websites which offer to calculate your carbon footprint will allow you to buy carbon offsets to help reduce your impact on the environment.
The purchase of carbon offsets is another way to reduce a carbon footprint. One carbon offset represents the reduction of one ton of CO2-eq. Companies who sell carbon offsets invest in projects such as renewable energy research, agricultural and landfill gas capture, and tree-planting.
Click here to see impact of your daily activities and buy carbon offsets.
Buying carbon offsets is a great way to offset your carbon footprint. Please research the companies in detail prior to buying the carbon offsets.
In my next post I will talk about ways to reduce your individual carbon footprint. In the mean time, readers please see how much your carbon footprint is by clicking here and let us know.