Estimate your annual carbon footprint based on your lifestyle choices.
High Meat (daily red meat)
Medium Meat (some red meat)
Low Meat (poultry/fish)
Vegetarian
Vegan
function calculateFootprint() {
// Conversion factors (kg CO2e per unit)
var electricityFactor = 0.4; // kg CO2e per kWh (global average)
var heatingFactor = 0.2; // kg CO2e per kWh equivalent (e.g., natural gas heating)
var carFuelFactor = 2.3; // kg CO2e per liter of gasoline
var shortFlightCO2 = 150; // kg CO2e per short flight (approx. 500km round trip)
var mediumFlightCO2 = 720; // kg CO2e per medium flight (approx. 3000km round trip)
var longFlightCO2 = 2000; // kg CO2e per long flight (approx. 10000km round trip)
var wasteFactor = 0.3; // kg CO2e per kg of mixed waste
var waterFactor = 0.0003; // kg CO2e per liter of water (for treatment, pumping, heating)
// Diet CO2e (annual kg CO2e)
var dietFactors = {
"vegan": 1500,
"vegetarian": 1700,
"lowMeat": 2000,
"mediumMeat": 2500,
"highMeat": 3000
};
// Get input values
var electricityUsage = parseFloat(document.getElementById("electricityUsage").value);
var heatingUsage = parseFloat(document.getElementById("heatingUsage").value);
var carDistance = parseFloat(document.getElementById("carDistance").value);
var carEfficiency = parseFloat(document.getElementById("carEfficiency").value);
var shortFlights = parseFloat(document.getElementById("shortFlights").value);
var mediumFlights = parseFloat(document.getElementById("mediumFlights").value);
var longFlights = parseFloat(document.getElementById("longFlights").value);
var dietType = document.getElementById("dietType").value;
var wasteKg = parseFloat(document.getElementById("wasteKg").value);
var waterUsage = parseFloat(document.getElementById("waterUsage").value);
// Validate inputs
if (isNaN(electricityUsage) || electricityUsage < 0 ||
isNaN(heatingUsage) || heatingUsage < 0 ||
isNaN(carDistance) || carDistance < 0 ||
isNaN(carEfficiency) || carEfficiency <= 0 ||
isNaN(shortFlights) || shortFlights < 0 ||
isNaN(mediumFlights) || mediumFlights < 0 ||
isNaN(longFlights) || longFlights < 0 ||
isNaN(wasteKg) || wasteKg < 0 ||
isNaN(waterUsage) || waterUsage 0) { // Avoid division by zero
var litersConsumed = (carDistance / 100) * carEfficiency; // Liters per year
annualCarCO2 = litersConsumed * carFuelFactor;
}
var annualFlightsCO2 = (shortFlights * shortFlightCO2) +
(mediumFlights * mediumFlightCO2) +
(longFlights * longFlightCO2);
var annualDietCO2 = dietFactors[dietType] || 0; // Default to 0 if dietType is not found
var annualWasteCO2 = wasteKg * 52 * wasteFactor; // 52 weeks in a year
var annualWaterCO2 = waterUsage * 12 * waterFactor;
// Total annual CO2e
var totalAnnualCO2e_kg = annualElectricityCO2 + annualHeatingCO2 + annualCarCO2 +
annualFlightsCO2 + annualDietCO2 + annualWasteCO2 + annualWaterCO2;
var totalAnnualCO2e_tonnes = totalAnnualCO2e_kg / 1000;
// Display results
var resultHTML = "
A sustainability footprint, often referred to as a carbon footprint, is a measure of the total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event, or product. It's typically expressed in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), which accounts for various greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide, converting their impact into the equivalent amount of CO2.
Why Calculate Your Footprint?
Calculating your personal sustainability footprint is a crucial first step towards understanding your environmental impact. It helps you identify which aspects of your lifestyle contribute most to greenhouse gas emissions, allowing you to make informed decisions about where to focus your efforts for reduction. Climate change is a pressing global issue, and individual actions, when aggregated, play a significant role.
Key Components of Your Footprint
Your sustainability footprint is influenced by a wide range of activities. This calculator focuses on several primary areas:
Energy Consumption: This includes electricity used for lighting, appliances, and electronics, as well as energy for heating and cooling your home. The source of your electricity (e.g., coal, natural gas, renewables) significantly impacts its carbon intensity.
Transportation: How you get around has a major impact. Car travel, especially with less fuel-efficient vehicles, and air travel (flights) are significant contributors due to the burning of fossil fuels.
Diet: The food we eat has a surprisingly large footprint. Producing meat, especially red meat, requires substantial land, water, and energy, and generates significant methane emissions. Plant-based diets generally have a much lower environmental impact.
Waste Generation: The production, transportation, and disposal of goods all consume energy and resources. Landfilling waste produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Reducing, reusing, and recycling can significantly lower this component.
Water Usage: While often overlooked, the energy required to pump, treat, heat, and deliver water contributes to emissions.
How This Calculator Works
This calculator uses average emission factors to estimate your annual CO2e footprint across different categories. By inputting your monthly electricity and heating usage, annual car distance and efficiency, number of flights, diet type, weekly waste, and monthly water usage, the tool aggregates these impacts into a total annual footprint in tonnes of CO2e.
It's important to note that these are estimates. Actual emissions can vary based on specific regional energy mixes, vehicle types, and other nuanced factors. However, this calculator provides a good general indication and helps highlight areas for potential improvement.
Reducing Your Footprint
Once you have an idea of your footprint, consider these actions:
Energy Efficiency: Switch to renewable energy providers, use energy-efficient appliances, insulate your home, and reduce overall energy consumption.
Sustainable Transportation: Opt for public transport, cycling, walking, or electric vehicles. Reduce air travel where possible.
Dietary Changes: Incorporate more plant-based meals, reduce red meat consumption, and choose locally sourced, seasonal foods.
Waste Reduction: Embrace the "reduce, reuse, recycle" mantra. Compost organic waste and avoid single-use plastics.
Water Conservation: Fix leaks, take shorter showers, and use water-efficient appliances.
Every small change contributes to a larger positive impact on our planet. Use this calculator as a starting point on your journey towards a more sustainable lifestyle.