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Carbon Footprint is a concept adapted from idea of an Ecological Footprint. “The term Ecological Footprint is a resource management tool that measures the natural resources (land, water) a human population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its wastes. In order to live, we consume resources and create waste. By measuring the Ecological Footprint of a population (an individual, a city, a nation, or all of humanity) we can manage our ecological assets more carefully."*
The term Carbon Footprint is a management tool measuring the total GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions to the atmosphere resulting from an individual, organization or region. Climate science tells us that we need to significantly reduce or eliminate our carbon footprint. Once we have measured our carbon footprint we can set targets for reducing or eliminating that footprint.
To be considered ’carbon neutral’ an individual or organization must eliminate or offset their entire carbon footprint. That is; all of the GHG emitting activities less any offsets result in a net zero GHG emission to the atmosphere. Of course in modern society it is just about impossible for someone to be responsible for no GHG emissions, so carbon neutrality is typically achieved by reducing emissions where possible and offsetting the rest. Offsets are emission reductions achieved by others that occur only for the purpose of ‘selling or trading’ ownership of the reductions to another party.
Determining one’s carbon footprint and setting targets to reduce emissions is an effective way to make strides towards mitigating climate change. A carbon footprint can be calculated for a specific action, activity or project. Determining a product or entities carbon footprint can indicate where the heaviest impact is, and, therefore, what to try and change.
* Adapted from Global Footprint Network