Photo: WWF
Something I believe in is to know the facts and figures to make proper decisions. Any company or organisation claiming to be climate friendly, neutral or positive should be transparent about how they measure, what they measure and trends over time not to confuse consumers or members.
On an individual basis I don’t find measures as important since the ones provided are not so accurate and I prefer individuals to focus on areas they can impact. From an individual perspective I find it more important to increase the mass of people making sustainable choices than to focus on details over individual choices. Sustainability also tend to be equalised with CO2 footprint. I believe a lower CO2 footprint than the average is a part of a sustainable living but I would also say it’s not crucial neither does it have to come first for someone changing their lifestyle. A sustainable living for me incorporate other aspects such as physical and mental health, inclusion and non-discrimination, choices towards increased biodiversity and so on. But for those who are worried about the climate crisis and for those who want’s to change their lifestyle towards one with lower carbon footprint, they can measure their footprint! If you want to make climate friendly actions it makes perfectly sense to know the data.
Sometimes we end up in discussions on how to fly or not, to be vegan or not, be self-sustained on the country side or not and these extremes often don’t lead to profound choices based on facts. For example, the emissions from one flight between Stockholm and Gothenburg is approximately the same as changing from normal meat diet to a vegan diet for 100 days. That calculation is based on a study in the USA and the carbon flight footprint by My Climate, so should be taken with a capital A on approximately.
For some of us there are areas in our life that might be more easy to change; housing, transport, diet, consumption are all areas we have different relationships to. By calculating the total CO2 footprint you know which areas has the highest impact and where you have the lowest impact. For some, just exchanging a few flights to a train ride can make a huge difference, while minor actions such as exchanging meat for veggies might not result in such a high difference if you just do it ones a week, but if you do it more often and keep on measuring your footprint, you'll see a change.
I would encourage everyone to measure their individual CO2 footprint and see if there’s some low-hanging fruits to pick from. Are there areas easily changeable? Every action counts, large or small.
Personally, my footprint has been more or less the same the last few years. Except my private flight travels I’m down at 500 kilos. With my travels my 2019 footprint will be 5 tons CO2. My work footprint I haven’t measured but my food consumption is my private and I only travel by train. However, even if you score 20 tons CO2 per year, don't feel hopeless. It’s easy to go from high to lower, it get’s harder when you start to go down to 3-5 ton.
How much CO2 we have as individuals has been stated to be around 1 ton per year to meet the Paris Agreement. However, I find it a little bit misleading because what we need to do is to come out of fossil dependence and it should be zero. A good mark is the average carbon footprint per year in Sweden which is 9 ton per person. If you can get lower than 9 ton, that’s a good start!
Don’t try to lower you CO2 more than you can handle, if you end up at 3 or 4, maybe it makes better sense for you to help others or a company/organisation to start measuring and lowering their CO2 instead of you fighting for your own? I believe we need to look beyond ourselves as individuals and put more efforts at an organisational level, however, by measuring your footprint you have a more accurate view on your living and a better sense on what to focus on.
Here are some platforms you can use to measure your own CO2 footprint. If you want to be professional and more accurate I would advise you to use all of them and then make an average based on several measures.
Good Luck!
Deedster - an app for your lifestyle
My Climate - transportation, housing and events
Carbon Footprint calculator - housing, transportation and consumption
Carbon Footprint Calculator, Nature - housing, consumption, transportation and food
Klimatkalkylatorn WWF - housing, transportation, food and consumption
Klimatkontot - housing, transportation, food and consumption
Klimatbalans - heat and transportation
Utsläppsrätt - heat and transportation
Climate hero - housing, transportation and consumption
Klimatmål ICA - food
Transportstyrelsen - flights
Zero Mission - flights