Quite popular in the debate on green economy, the term carbon footprint is essential for sustainability projects. It shows the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere by an activity. Emissions can be direct or indirect and are the sum of all gases emitted throughout the production chain. The concept is central to the discussion on ecological transition. After all, through this mapping, it is possible to identify environmental risks associated with production. This information also allows producers to adjust their activities to take advantage of opportunities in the market committed to sustainability.
Footprint: the traces of an activity
A simple way to understand the term is to look at the definition of “footprint” in the dictionary:
Trace or mark of feet left on the ground when passing; trail, sign.
I.e, carbon footprints are the traces left in the atmosphere by human action throughout a process. It can refer to people, companies, production chains and even countries. carbon footprint It is used to quantify the traces of greenhouse gas emissions from a given activity.
The focus of the carbon footprint is to translate the impact of the activity on the environment into numbers. It transforms the volume of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere into a measurement. The main causes of global warming, CO2 (carbon dioxide) and CH4 (methane gas) are the basis of the “carbon footprint”. CO2, together with other greenhouse gases (GHG), make up the indicator that demonstrates the impact of the activity on the atmosphere.
Why carbon footprint?
Now that you understand the concept of footprint, you may be wondering why the term is carbon footprint and not greenhouse gas footprint. If other gases also contribute to global warming and make up the calculation of the carbon footprint, why is carbon so prominent?
One of the challenges in measuring the impact of human action on the environment is establishing objective and common criteria for this calculation. For methodological reasons, it has been agreed that the measurement for calculating the impacts of human action on the atmosphere is carbon equivalent. Carbon is the main cause of the greenhouse effect and, therefore, has become the standard measurement. This means that the impact of all gases is converted into carbon equivalent. It is capable of translating the impact of greenhouse gases into a single unit of measurement.
What is carbon equivalent?
The conversion is done by relating the impact of the gas to the carbon footprint. Methane gas (CH4), for example, has an impact 21 times greater than CO2. This means that if an activity emits 10 tons of methane, the carbon footprint is 210 (21 x 10) tons of carbon equivalent.
Virtually all human activity produces greenhouse gases. Whether it’s through car fuel or the use of fertilizers in agricultural production, it’s impossible not to leave a carbon footprint. Therefore, completely eliminating carbon emissions is not a realistic goal. However, by understanding the impacts of each activity, it’s possible to increase the efficiency of processes, reduce their impacts, and promote offsets. Thus, thinking in overall terms, reducing the “carbon footprint” on the basis of a sustainable economy is an achievable goal.
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