Sustainable Warwickshire

With so much advice available on how to minimise our impacts on the environment, taking steps to reduce our carbon footprints can seem overwhelming. The first step is often knowing where to start. This is where carbon footprint calculators are helpful, so that we can identify and understand our personal impacts on the environment and give us guidance on how we might reduce our impact.  

There are plenty of free carbon footprint calculators available, including from;

•  Climate Hero
• World Wildlife Fund
• Carbonfootprint.com

They each enable you to calculate your carbon and environmental footprint (in tonnes of carbon dioxide) and help you find ways to change how you live. 

To give you an example of how this works, the Giki Zero carbon footprint tool asks a series of questions about your lifestyle and habits, called 'footprints'. These include your energy and water usage, household waste and recycling and also your diet, how much food you waste, what kinds of transport you use, your purchasing habits and even what kind of financial services you use.  

Once Giki Zero has calculated your baseline score, it analyses the data and makes tailored suggestions on how you can improve it. From 'nice little steps', such as taking care to boil only as much water as you need when making hot drinks, to 'changing the world' measures, such as getting a heat-pump installed in your home, Giki categorises the suggested actions by how much impact they will have on reducing your carbon footprint. It also gives information on other financial, health or time benefits that these changes will bring you.