What is a carbon footprint?

Carbon footprint is a simple way to calculate the climate pollution caused by your lifestyle over a year.

It is based on how you heat or cool your home, how you move from one place to another, what you eat and what products you buy and use.

The carbon footprint is measured in metric tonnes. It measures your carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions that are released into the atmosphere every year due to your activities.

Learn more (Wikipedia)

Video explaining carbon footprint (2:00)

Average annual footprints

Your footprint depends a lot on where you live and how you live.

The global average carbon footprint is around 5 tons per person per year. The global goal is under 2 tons to limit the global warming as planned.

Average annual footprints around the world:
15-20 tons in North America
6-10 tons in Europe
7-9 tons in China
2-3 tons in India
1-2 tons in Sub-Saharan Africa

Links to country-specific lists:
World Population Review - Carbon Footprint by Country
Global Economy - CO2 emissions per capita
Wikipedia - List of countries by CO2 emissions per capita

What adds up to my footprint?

  • Home

    heating, cooling, electricity, hot water

  • Travel

    flights, car, public transport

  • Food

    meat and dairy, and ways of production

  • Stuff

    clothes, electronics, furniture, and more

Practical examples of amounts

  • 10 kg roughly removes:

    • Driving a petrol car 40–60 km
    • Eating 1-2 beef or 3–4 chicken meals
    • Producing a cotton t-shirt
    • Sending 12,000 emails
    • 1 spa or sauna visit

  • 100 kg roughly removes:

    • Month of typical European/US diet
    • Heating a home for 2–4 cold days
    • Producing a new pair of jeans
    • Streaming video for 200–300 hours
    • 2–3 uber trips of 20–25 km each

  • 1 ton roughly removes:

    • 1–2 months of modern living
    • Short-haul return flight (3-5 hours)
    • Producing new laptop + smartphone
    • Year of laundry in a large household
    • 25–30 hotel nights

  • 10 tons roughly removes:

    • Average annual footprint in Europe
    • Half of annual footprint in the US
    • Long-haul return flight for two
    • Producing 2.5 tonnes of plastic
    • Producing 1,000 kg of beef
    • Producing 2,000–2,500 kg of rice

Where can I calculate my footprint?

So how much should I remove?

There’s no single “right” answer. You can remove any amount of your choice - you decide!

Here is a simple way to think about it:

1 - Reduce what you can.
Choose non-fossil and lower-carbon options where it’s realistic for you, for example cleaner energy and transportation, more plant-based meals.

2 - Remove what you can't avoid.
For the emissions that are hard to cut, use immediate and proven carbon removals at our store to reach your personal net zero.

3 - Start with a realistic amount.
You can start small, by removing a portion of your footprint today. Or you can go big and remove your life-time footprint. Or anything in between.

Any step is better than no step. Our store makes it easy for you to do something real today – and come back later to do more.

Every kilogram counts.

Combine products to match the exact amount of your carbon footprint you want to remove - one-time or monthly. Your carbon will be removed and durably stored by our certified partners and we'll send you proof of completion within a month.

Contact us - we'd love to hear your feedback or questions 💚