For those who have studied CSR strategies, the concept of carbon footprint, also known as carbon footprint, is probably no stranger. Each term plays an extremely important role for organizations, businesses, and production facilities with environmental commitments. With the article below, let's GREEN IN Learn about the concept of carbon footprint and measures to reduce carbon footprint to push back the increasingly serious greenhouse gas emissions!
1. What is a carbon footprint?
Carbon footprint is understood as the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted throughout the life cycle of a service or product from production to use and disposal. It mainly includes carbon dioxide (CO2) - the most common gas emitted by human activities, along with other gases such as methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and fluorine compounds (F). These greenhouse gases are not only harmful to human health but also cause global warming.
The term “carbon footprint” first appeared in 1979 at a meeting of the Yosemite National Park Energy Commission. However, it was not until 2007 that the term was truly popularized and officially used in scientific reports on climate change published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The carbon footprint created by a country, organization or individual can come from direct and indirect emission sources:
- Direct emissions are greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that come directly from sources owned or controlled by an organization - According to the GHG protocol
- Indirect emissions are greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that arise from an organization's activities but from sources not owned or controlled by that organization - According to the GHG protocol
Typically, the majority of each person's carbon emissions come from areas such as transportation and food-related needs.
2. Instructions on how to calculate carbon footprint
Many factors will affect the carbon footprint calculation process, typically lifestyle, living area, energy consumption level... However, the most commonly applied method to determine carbon emissions is to depend on fuel consumption divided by per capita. Then, the total carbon emissions and individual carbon footprint will be added together to get the final result.
To better understand this calculation, you can refer to the following typical example: When traveling a distance of 200km, a motorbike will consume about 2.5 liters of gasoline/100km. Then, a distance of 200km will use up 5 liters of gasoline, and each liter of gasoline will produce 2.3kg of carbon gas, so the process of traveling a distance of 200km will emit about 11.5kg of carbon gas.
The calculated number will be added to your annual carbon footprint. In Vietnam, the average carbon footprint is about 1,18 tons/person/year.
3. Serious impacts of greenhouse gas emissions
3.1. Environmental impact
One of the obvious facts is that as carbon emissions increase, the Earth's temperature will also change, leading to many serious consequences such as melting ice, rising sea levels causing coastal erosion, land encroachment and ecosystem destruction.
Not only that, carbon footprints also affect flora and fauna when species cannot adapt to the changes, leading to extinction. The most typical example is the melting ice in the Arctic, causing polar bears to lose their habitat.
3.2. Impact on human life
Not only does it impact the environment, greenhouse gas emissions also affect human health. In large cities that are industrial centers, heavy traffic causes CO2 to increase day by day, which also contains ultra-fine dust that can penetrate the lungs, leading to difficulty breathing and even causing respiratory diseases in humans.
4. Top 5 ways to improve your carbon footprint
Carbon footprint can be completely pushed back, bringing a green living environment through the following simple measures:
4.1. Minimize the use of personal vehicles
The main reason for the increasing carbon footprint is the excessive use of means of transport that produce CO2. Instead, you can change your living habits by using public or more environmentally friendly means of transport such as walking, buses, bicycles, electric motorbikes, electric cars, etc. The use of green electric vehicles is a trend that Vietnam as well as the whole world is focusing on developing to reduce the amount of carbon emitted from fuel consumption.
Developed countries around the world are also investing in improving public transport infrastructure with the aim of minimizing carbon emissions into the environment while still ensuring people's travel needs.
Towards the use of green and sustainable energy sources
Most of today’s energy comes from fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas, which are used to heat homes and power vehicles. However, these fuels are limited in supply and when burned, they release pollutants that contribute to climate change.
To improve this problem, fossil fuels are gradually being replaced by clean, environmentally friendly and sustainable energy sources such as solar power, wind power, etc. The most typical example of replacing fossil energy sources with green energy is the production and use of electric motorbikes and electric cars, which are growing rapidly in the Vietnamese market.
4.2. Planting trees
Planting trees in the living space seems to be a very small action but has a huge impact on the process of reducing carbon emissions. The photosynthesis process of trees when absorbing CO2 and releasing oxygen is not only beneficial to humans but also improves the environment. According to the latest statistics, 24kg of CO2 is the number that trees can consume each year. Therefore, planting trees is an effective solution to improve air quality and reduce carbon footprint.
4.3. Habit of turning off electrical equipment when not in use
According to research, electrical appliances left on standby in UK households could emit up to 800.000 tonnes of CO2 each year - IEA CO2 Emissions Report 2022
Therefore, the simplest way to reduce your carbon footprint is to develop the habit of completely turning off electrical devices when not in use.
4.4. Apply the 5R rule
“No waste” is a human habit that helps to fight climate change. With the 5R rule including 3 main principles: “Reduce - Reuse - Recycle”, carbon footprint will be minimized:
- Refuse - Refuse: Develop a habit of refusing plastic or paper products that cannot be recycled, replacing them with reusable items.
- Reduce - Minimize consumption: Ignore unnecessary "virtual needs", focus on what is really necessary.
- Reuse - Reuse: Take advantage of items in good condition for reuse.
- Rot - Decompose: Use leftover food from nearby food waste collection centers to make compost.
- Recycle - Recycle: Glass, metal, paper and plastic items should be recycled to minimize the use of many items that create a large carbon footprint.
4.5. Fast fashion trends need to be limited
Fast fashion is understood as clothing models that follow temporary fashion trends. Usually, these clothing models will be relatively cheap and constantly changing. The production process of fast fashion will lead to an increase in carbon footprint due to time pressure and production costs. In addition, cheap fabric dyes are also the cause of water pollution. Therefore, limiting the production and use of fast fashion is necessary to minimize carbon footprint.
5. Conclusion
The above article has helped you learn about carbon footprints. Hopefully our information will be of some help to you as well as contribute to protecting the environment to become greener - cleaner - more beautiful. Don't forget to follow the next articles at GREEN IN for more updated information!