Carbon Footprint

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Carbon Footprint
Abstract
The word ‘Carbon Footprint’ was become popular in the world with the impacts of Climate
Change and actions taking to minimize bad impacts on Climate Change. There is a need of
contribution of all individuals to save earth from environmental problems that are created by us.
Within Last few decades world public seeking solutions for the burning environmental problems
such as global warming, sea level rising, tornedos and etc… Most of the environmental problems
occur with changing of climate change due to growth of Greenhouse Gases. Carbon Footprint
came to the field as concept and tool to measure GHGs from our day to day activities. It came
with evolutionary process of many actions, concepts and etc… In the current world Carbon
Footprint is popular among individuals, organizations as well as countries. Though it is popular
or applicable there are some limitations as environmental sustainable tool.
Definitions
The Carbon Footprint is mostly discussion title in the world, which is developed as a concept in
recent years. Within Last few decades world has concentrated their views and actions to
environmental friendly due to issues that are occurring against to human living pattern from the
environment such as climate change impacts & etc…
Carbon footprint one of result from process of finding environment friendly life styles and
production processes. First we drive to some definitions to understand what exactly carbon
footprint means.
"The carbon footprint is a measure of the exclusive total amount of carbon dioxide emissions
that is directly and indirectly caused by an activity or is accumulated over the life stages of a
product."

"A carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted through the
combustion of fossil fuels. In the case of a business organization, it is the amount of CO2 emitted
either directly or indirectly as a result of its everyday operations. It also might reflect the fossil
energy represented in a product or commodity reaching market."

Thomas Wiedmann, Jan Minx (2007), A Definition of Carbon Footprint, Internet Article

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“A Carbon Footprint is a measure of the climate change impacts created by greenhouse gases
from human activities”
Dr. Bob Vaas, What is Carbon footprint, YouTube Video

Definitions express carbon footprint is about amount of carbon dioxide released in to atmosphere
as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organization or community. When we are
studying more definitions about carbon footprint, some occasions it talks about amount of
greenhouse gases but sometimes carbon dioxide amount.

The concept of carbon footprint emerge with the climate change impacts. In last decade world
paid their attention for global warming, natural disasters due to growth of them. Most of these
disasters and uncomfortable environmental conditions identified as the impacts of climate
change. More analysis showed most of climate change impacts occur due to the growth of
greenhouse gases in the environment. There are number of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
and we know CO
2
is one of major contributor of GHGs. That’s why some references talk about
GHGs in the carbon footprint.

In the atmosphere, CO
2
Contributed with small amount and it’s about 0.034%. One person can
ask why we so worried about CO
2
? Still we have such small amount in the atmosphere.
Carbon Footprint refers to the Greenhouse gas emissions that are released in to the environment
by using energy. In the carbon cycle, plants absorb CO
2
from the air and animals eat plants that
contain CO
2
. When animals or plants die CO
2
released in to the atmosphere or ground. But now
whole cycle has changed by us/ humans. We have been cutting a lot of forests that used to absorb
CO
2
from the atmosphere. We have been digging up CO
2
from the underground and burning it
for energy. In which CO
2
is released to the atmosphere. By getting rid of plants and burning up
lots of fossil fuel the atmosphere now fill with carbon faster than plants can absorb it. In which
extra CO
2
traps heat from the Sun. That’s the story behind the carbon footprint.

Basically the carbon footprint made from two parts.
 Primary Footprint – Measure of direct CO
2
emission from the burning of fossil fuels.
E.G. Vehicles, Domestic electricity, Generators
 Secondary Footprint – Measure of indirect CO
2
emissions. This is associated with every
single product that we use.
Or we can see another categorization according to use of equipment and resources that we have.
It calls three scope of carbon foot print as well. Let’s take industry and categorize their uses in to
the three scopes.
Direct Emissions Indirect Emissions Other Indirect Emissions
Combusting Sources Typical electricity Transportation of purchased
material or goods
Site owned vehicles Could be steam or high
temperature hot water
Employee business travel
On site electrical generation Emissions from finished
products
CFC and HFC losses from
refrigeration equipment
Transportation of waste
Vegetation & Trees
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According to this categories, scope 1 and 2 relatively easy to control against to emission of
carbon. But scope 3 is very difficult to control due to boundary issues, magnitude is higher than
1 & 2 and costly value chain.


Related Concepts and Theories

Climate Change

Climate change we can define as changes in the earth's weather, including changes in
temperature, wind patterns and rainfall, especially the increase in the temperature of the earth's
atmosphere that is caused by the increase of particular gases, especially carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases. The definition of climate change expresses the relation between climate
change and CO
2
.
Carbon Footprint is the tool of measuring CO
2
emission from particular activity, product and
etc… It came to field make aware about the climate change and to ready people against to the
bad impacts of climate change. In carbon footprint there are three levels.
 Personal Footprint
 Country’s Footprint
 World’s Footprint
The important is reduction of personal footprint in individual wise to achieve country’s and
world’s footprints. If individual is ready to reduce his/her footprint his/her ready for changing
bad impacts on Climate change.

Ecological Footprint

Ecological footprint is a measure of the total resource consumption and its impact on the
environment (Natural Capital) of particular activity. At the same time it’s a mathematical tool to
indicate the stress we place on the earth’s resources for our day to day living. Most of the time
carbon footprint has seen as the part of ecological footprint. Ecological footprint talks about
every factor in the environment in relation to a particular activity such as biodiversity, built land,
sea, energy and etc. Carbon footprint is talking about the energy consumption and generating
CO
2
emissions from the various energy sources.

Carbon Trading
Carbon Trading is one of attractive and comprehensive technique in the 21
st
Century which is
giving more solutions for environmental and business problems. It has been always gap between
environmental protection and profit maximization of businesses. What happening in the carbon
trading is, industrialized countries generate more CO
2
to environment. Developing countries got
chance to grow forests in their country and getting paid from the industrialized countries instead
of CO
2
emissions. Internationally this is well recognized and functioning technique. This is
mainly reducing the world’s Carbon Footprint. If it is applicable for country level or firm level it
would great chance to the personal footprint as well as country’s foot print.
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Methodologies and Tools
There should be way to express the individual, organizational carbon footprint in understandable
manner. Before the expressing style we have to find the methods that are using to calculate
carbon footprint.
Process Analysis (PA)
Process analysis (PA) is a bottom-up
method, which has been developed to
understand the environmental impacts of
individual products from cradle to end.
Process analysis based on the Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) of a product. This is
basically only on site and mostly first and
second impacts are considered. When we
are going to calculate Carbon Footprint in
large Entities by using PA it would be
difficult with data availability and
estimating methods. Process analysis has
clear advantages for looking at micro
systems: a particular process, an
individual product or a relatively small
group of individual products.

Environmental Input Output (EIO) Analysis

This is providing an alternative top- down approach to carbon foot printing. Especially in the
sector level economic accounts provide inputs and outputs tables and it shows better picture
about all economic activities. Environment account data is important to this method. The
suitability of environmental input-output analysis to assess micro systems such as products or
processes is limited, as it assumes homogeneity of prices, outputs and their carbon emissions at
the sector level. Although sectors can be disaggregated for further analysis, bringing it closer to a
micro system, this possibility is limited, at least on a larger scale. A big advantage of input-
output based approaches, however, is a much smaller requirement of time and manpower once
the model is in place. In this context a carbon footprint of industrial sectors, individual
businesses, larger product groups, households, government, the average citizen or an average
member of a particular socio-economic group can easily be performed by input-output analysis.

Hybrid Environmental Input Output- Life Cycle Assessment Analysis (Hybrid EIO-LCA)

Due to the some boundaries of previous individual methods applicants pay attention to develop
hybrid method by combining and integrating both PA and EIO methods. This approach allows
preserving the detail and accuracy of bottom-up approaches in lower order stages, while higher-
order requirements are covered by the input-output part of the model. Hybrid EIO-LCA approach
allows to preserve the detail and accuracy of bottom-up approaches in lower order stages, while
higher-order requirements are covered by the input-output part of the model.
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Tools

There are number of tools to calculate carbon footprint in individual level, organizational level.
If any person needs to calculate his own Carbon Footprint, he just needs to know his
consumption statistics. He can log on to the online Carbon Footprint calculator and enter the
data.

www.carbonfootprint.com is a website that made for many activities relates with carbon
footprint. In this website there are many services related to carbon footprint.




















And as I mentioned online Carbon Footprint calculators and soft wares are available as tool.
















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UBERTO is software that can use for Calculation, Modeling and Optimizing carbon Footprints.


















Evolution of the Concept, Practices and Limitations

Evolution of the Concept

 Since 1980, political world had been worrying about the impact on the Earth’s climate of
‘Greenhouse Gases’ released in to the atmosphere through human activity.
 With support of many national governments, the United Nations (UN) has set up
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988 to bring together the world’s
leading specialist Climatologists to investigate and report authoritatively what was
happening.
 1997 in Japan Kyoto protocol came to the field as a result of many conversations on
Environmental Protection.
 Emission-reduction targets of greenhouse gases for each of the member
countries
 A greenhouse gas emission-trading program
 Holding future meetings to set penalties for violators of the established
targets and regulation rules of the emission-trading program
 To achieve the targets of conferences, protocol there many programs were conducted. To
bring these efforts to the people there many programs, concepts were developed such as
voluntary market mechanisms. (OZONE Layer protection, CFC reduction, Ecological
footprint, 3Rs, etc...)
 In 2006 and 2007 time period many researchers were talking about ‘Carbon Weight’ and
the Footprint.
 2007 is the year the concept of Carbon Footprint came to the field as result of voluntary
market mechanism.
 Carbon Footprint now itself is a concept as well as tool that can be used measure GHG
emission of activities and self-motive tool to reduce GHGs to the atmosphere.
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Practices

Sri Lankan Case Study

National Cleaner Production Award 2010
Silver Award- Villa Ocean View Hotel, Wadduwa

This hotel is maintaining the Environmental Management System in their organization. Carbon
Footprint Assessment is one component of their process. There are no more information relates
with carbon footprint but following details from their EMS 2009.

Policy Commitment

We will continuously contribute towards the Social, Economic and Environmental Sustainability
and increase overall efficiency / effectiveness and reduce risks to humans and the environment
by applying our Future Environmental plans.

Objectives
 Completed the activities as per the schedule
 Increase the awareness of all staff / Schools’ Students / Community / Guests
 Utilize the overall outcome of the Compost Zone
 Establish a rain water storing project
 Planting to plant fruits trees (Jack, Mango, Mangosteen, Guava, Rambutan Trees)



Carbon Footprint- Year 2009 (Villa Ocean View Hotel- Wadduwa)



















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Oakhurst Dairy- England

Preparing a Carbon Footprint
 Identify Boundaries
 Identify Sources
 Collect Data
 Prepare Footprint to International Standards
 Assess Strategic Implications
Goals, cost savings & reduction opportunities, external & internal communication
 Public Disclosure

Carbon Footprint Boundaries

















GHG Emission Sources Oakhurst Carbon Footprint Results

 Electricity
 Refrigerants (HFCs)
 Stationary Source Fossil Fuels
Combustion
Natural gas
Diesel
Heavy Fuel Oil (#6)
Propane
Kerosene
 Mobile Source Fossil Fuel
Combustion
 Anaerobic WWT



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Limitations of Carbon Footprint

 Carbon Footprint is indicator of environmental sustainability in relation to Climate
Change impacts. Currently there are number of environmental problems which are
occurring due to the climate change. At the same time there are environmental problems
which are not relates with climate change but they are very critically injured to the
environment. In such cases Carbon Footprint is poor representative to make decisions on
that.
 Things with large carbon footprints do damage to the earth by releasing large amounts of
carbon. Things with small carbon footprints do little damage. A carbon footprint is just a
number, telling you how much carbon is produced in the making, producing, transporting
and using of a certain thing. This thing could be a car, or a bottle of beer, or a tin of
vegetables, or your house, or even you.
For example, the carbon footprint of a tin of vegetables that was produced on the
other side of the world would consider the collection, transport, cooking and canning of
the crop. It would then factor in the cost of transportation half way round the world, by
ship, air, truck and perhaps your own vehicle. Compare this to vegetables grown in your
own garden, or at least in your own local area.
So an item with a large carbon footprint releases more carbon into the
atmosphere, adding to the greenhouse gases already there, and contributing to global
warming, much more than an item with a small carbon footprint.
 GHGs make globe warmer. Carbon Footprint encourage the people to use renewable
energy and reduce usage of GHG emits equipment. But in developing countries still their
development measuring by the usage of electricity, vehicles and etc... Most of
development indicators based on usage of non-renewable energy sources. This condition
is unfair. Development indicators should be changed to direct sustainable life styles.




















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References

Dr. Bob Vaas, What is Carbon footprint, YouTube Video

Dr. Sven Lundie, Matt hias Schulz, Dr. Greg Peters (2009), Carbon Footprint Measurement
Methodology Report

Ocean View Limited Wadduwa ppt documet (2010), National Cleaner Production Award 2010,
ppt document

Pure Strategies Corporation (2011 June), Carbon Footprint Case Study Oakhurst Dairy, ppt
document

Thomas Wiedmann, Jan Minx (2007), A Definition of Carbon Footprint, Internet Article

Website- www.carbonfootprint.com,

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