Footprint Calculators

 

To figure out how much pollution you make, visit one of the footprint calculators. The easiest/quickest pollution calculators maybe at: WWF and footprint.com [BAD LINK]. But don’t be distracted by their offset-selling and donation-asking! Get an idea about the pollution you create, and then come back here. (:-}

 

abacus

 

“Quantifying how much…it takes to support one’s lifestyle helps us…learn what we can do.”

(from Science and the Global Environment, 2017; by Alan McIntosh and Jennifer Pontius)

Like with so much about the pollution issue, simple things can appear complicated. With footprint calculators, there are different ways of measuring your output.

Such as:

Coming up with an exact number is not as important as gaining an overall understanding of the problem.

To learn how many tons of pollution you personally have control over, go through a couple of the questionnaires. Notice what your biggest pollution contributions are, and then get going with Solutions.

You can re-take the pollution calculation questionnaires at any time, but know that your personal pollution production won’t decrease until you make solutions happen (along with everyone else).

 

Sky Ranch Fire

 

The best designed calculators seem to have been made by companies that want you to purchase something, either off-sets or a product they sell, but there’s no need to donate or buy anything.

For a breakdown of a baker’s dozen of footprint calculators, plus my own annual number, continue below:

https://www.footprintcalculator.org/home/en
Global Footprint Network
Ecological Footprint
Sponsor: Schneider Electric (large European company)
(promotes own business) (somewhat difficult to find annual tons #, but details can be found on the final page) 6

https://www.wren.co/calculator
Wren
Carbon footprint / carbon calculator
Wren (small California offsets company) (sells offsets) (asks for your email address) 15

https://climatehero.me/
ClimateHero
Carbon footprint
Sponsor: Climate Hero AB (Swedish private business)
(asks for name) (asks for your email address) (good use of pledge idea) (sells offsets) (many follow up ads)
5

https://footprintcalculator.henkel.com/en
(Wuppertal Institut)
Personal footprint / footprint calculator
Sponsor: Henkel (large German chemical company)
(euro oriented; metric system) (promotes its chemical business)
3

https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/
WWF / UK
Environmental Footprint
World Wildlife Fund / United Kingdom
(UK oriented) (asks for donation)
10

https://www3.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator/
Carbon Footprint Calculator
Carbon footprint
United States Environmental Protection Agency
(way too few items considered; i.e., no airplane q’s) (one of the worst calculators)
5

https://www.conservation.org/carbon-footprint-calculator#/
Conservation International
Carbon footprint calculator
Sponsor: SC Johnson (large U.S. chemical products company) (makers of RAID, PLEDGE, Ziplock plastic bags, etc.)
(promotes its own business) (sells offsets) (not the best calculator)
10

https://depts.washington.edu/i2sea/iscfc/index.php
International Student Carbon Footprint Challenge
Carbon footprint
Sponsors: 3 U.S. universities, plus…
(asks for name, etc.) (the basic version is thorough, yet easy to follow) (one of the best after you get through the first 3 pages)
6

https://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/calculator
CoolClimate
Carbon footprint calculator
Developed by UC Berkeley
(used by the Nature Conservancy, the California Air Resources Board) (thorough, but somewhat difficult to traverse)
10

https://carbonindependent.org/
Carbon Independent
CO2 calculator
Developed by Ian Campbell, M.D.
(UK oriented) (unbiased, independent, and well done, but a little hard to navigate)
6

https://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
Carbon Footprint Ltd
Carbon footprint
Sponsor: Carbon Footprint Ltd. (UK offsets selling company)
(emphasizes selling offsets)
10

https://offset.climateneutralnow.org/footprintresult
UN carbon offset platform
UN carbon footprint calculator
Sponsor: the United Nations
(sells offsets) (overly simplified)
12

https://terrapass.com/carbon-footprint-calculator
Terrapass
Carbon Calculator
Sponsor: Terrapsss (offsets selling company)
(emphasis on offsets) (asks for email, name, and newsletter consent)
3

 

 

Footprints for Businesses:

https://slashdot.org/software/comparison/Footprint-Calculator-vs-SustainLab/

https://compareyourfootprint.com/

 

 

“Integrating Ecological, Carbon and Water footprint into a ‘Footprint Family’ of indicators:”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1470160X11001889?via%3Dihub