What’s your carbon footprint, and how can you reduce it?  Individual carbon footprint explained.

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By Amelia Lee

People are becoming more climate-conscious, taking note of the greenhouse gasses (GHG) they emit through everything from their electricity usage to the food they eat.  This process is called measuring one’s carbon footprint, or the total GHGs emitted for any activity, whether corporate or individual.

The average American emits almost 16 tons of energy-related CO2 annually, while the per capita average for the whole world is around 4.5 tons.  But these numbers don’t account for non-energy-related activities that cause emissions and non-CO2 greenhouse gasses.

So, where exactly do all your emissions come from?  Let’s break down all the factors in your individual carbon footprint — household, transportation, food, and shopping habits — and how to reduce your emissions for each section.  We’ll also introduce a few handy calculators and discuss the concept of personal responsibility vs. corporate responsibility.

‍Household

Energy use within the household makes up a huge portion of an individual’s emissions.  Space heating and cooling (gas or electricity powered) account for 42% of the energy used in US homes.  Upgrading insulation for your house and using less heating/cooling in the winter/summer are ways to reduce emissions in this area.  Electric lighting, refrigeration, laundry, and water heating are also used.  Switching to LED lighting and washing clothes less and with cold water can help reduce your household GHG emissions.

One often ignored part of household emissions is pollution from construction — specifically, the use of carbon-intensive concrete.  Though there are efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete production, carbon-negative alternatives like ferrock and timbercrete are quickly becoming more popular.  Another thing that doesn’t often get factored into household emissions is the upstream pollution from renewable sources — like the GHGs emitted to produce the solar panels a household uses.  Proper maintenance of solar panels can extend their lifespan and ensure that they become carbon-negative more quickly.

Transportation

How do you commute?  Do you drive yourself to work, or do you take public transportation?  Commuting can be an important part of your carbon footprint.  Where public transportation is not convenient, switching to a hybrid or fully electric vehicle is a huge investment, but carpooling can be a much easier change.  Keeping your car repaired and in good condition also reduces any leakage.  In addition, biking or walking when you can is not only good for the environment but also cheaper and great for your own health.

What’s also crucial in terms of transportation emissions, if not more important, is your air travel.  4 long round-trip flights can emit more than a year’s worth of emissions from a gas-powered car!  Avoid taking long flights and opt for carpooling road trips when possible.

‍Food

What do you eat?  Specifically, how much and what types of meat?  Most emissions from food come from land use change — like changing a carbon-sink forest to a grazing pasture — and farming processes — like fertilizer emissions and methane from cattle.  The most carbon-intensive foods are meats, specifically beef herds.  Vegetarians tend to have less than half the carbon footprint as the average omnivore.

Opting to “eat local” can reduce the emissions from packaging, transportation, and retail.  However, these factors make up only a small portion of a food product’s emissions.

Just take a look at the graph below from OurWorldinData.org.  For most foods, transport is less than 10% of emissions, and for beef, it’s only 0.5%.  Local beef still likely produces more than ten times the emissions as eggs that have traveled across the country.

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Graph from OurWorldinData.org

In the end, though buying local can decrease emissions, it’s mostly the food you eat rather than where it’s from that makes a difference.  Opting for less carbon-intensive meats like fish, chicken, and pork, as well as occasional vegetarian meals, can drastically decrease your food carbon footprint.

Another important food-related emissions source is food waste.  Food that ends up in landfills contributes greatly to methane pollution.  One-quarter of food production emissions, or 3.3 billion tons of CO2 equivalent, comes from food waste from the supply chain or the consumer.  Paying attention to how long your product lasts, saving leftovers, and composting your waste can reduce your food waste at home.

‍How clean is electricity?

Not all electricity is made equal!  If you live in Vermont, more than 82% of your electricity comes from renewable sources — hydroelectric, wind, and solar.  That means space heating through electricity is much cleaner than natural gas, and driving with an electrical vehicle is much better than a gas vehicle.  But if you live in West Virginia, where 80% of the electricity is from coal, you should probably stick with gas space heating.   An electric vehicle will be no better than a gas car because coal-powered electricity is even more carbon-intensive than gasoline.

When you consider whether to electrify your home or your transportation, take note of the electricity mix of your power utility and your region. Here’s a handy graphic for the electricity mix of states in the US. However, US is working toward 100% green electricity by 2030.

Shopping habits

From clothing to technology, your shopping habits can create a lot of emissions.  Do you buy fast fashion made across the globe?  Do you recycle the electronic devices you stop using?  Pay attention to the practices of the company you buy goods from.  Nowadays, you can see whether a jacket is Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) certified or if a laptop is TCO certified.  Look for transparent companies in terms of their supply chain and sustainability practices.  Sustainable options tend to be more costly, but hopefully, they will become more competitive in the next few decades.

Buying second-hand is almost always cheaper and more environmentally friendly.  Thrifting for clothing and buying second-hand appliances can reduce your carbon footprint from shopping.

Perhaps most importantly, don’t over-consume.  Buy only what you need and what is versatile.

‍Personal Responsibility & Corporate Responsibility

Corporations emit much more than the average individual.  Fossil fuel companies have long tried to push the narrative that the consumer should carry the burden of the impact of their products.  Instead, all companies should account for all their emissions — from manufacturing to transportation to end-of-life.  A large corporation being sensible for all 3 scopes of emissions can make a huge difference in emissions, much more than the carbon footprint of one individual.

Yes, paying attention to your own carbon footprint is important.  But don’t overly agonize about whether you recycled that one plastic bottle or ate beef for one meal.  And don’t shame people about not having the most sustainable living and shopping habits.  Many people are limited by the high upfront costs of living green, and lower-income individuals tend to emit much less than their rich counterparts.  Always work on making your life a bit greener, but pay attention to big corporations and the larger picture.

‍What’s next?

Give it a try yourself and estimate your own carbon footprint!  There are many handy carbon footprint calculators out there.  Go with the more conservative (higher) estimate.

• CoolClimate (US)
• Conservation.org (US)
• US EPA (US) — also has tips on reducing energy consumption and saving $$
• WWF-UK (UK)
• UN (international)