The Carbon Footprint calculates the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions emitted by an individual, organization, event, or product directly or indirectly.
By calculating the carbon footprint, the impact on climate change can be quantified. It also identifies the possibilities of reducing both emissions and costs in bioconstruction.
The carbon footprint is of great importance in many areas:
To improve the image, calculating a company’s footprint helps it strengthen its brand and reputation and thus show an image committed to the fight against climate change.
To evaluate risks associated with climate change, global warming, and the greenhouse effect to identify potential savings and opportunities to access new markets. The carbon footprint is not the only calculation that can help us to become environmentally responsible.
The realization of an energy audit allows us to know the necessary keys to improve a company’s energy efficiency or a home. This audit is not directly related to a carbon footprint report. Still, the truth is that if we put into action the advice given by an energy audit, we can reduce the footprint, global warming, and the greenhouse effect.
Comply with legislation, reducing the costs associated with legislative changes by making them before they become mandatory. Global carbon footprint legislation is different in each country.
It responds to new customer or investor requirements to help customers, consumers, or investors in their decision-making by providing accurate and reliable information. An example of a footprint in this area is hotels’ carbon footprint, where customers like to know this type of information because they attach great importance to the print, which is why they opt for sustainable hotels.
With small actions daily, you can help reduce emissions of polluting gases. Nowadays, several platforms, initiatives, and even applications for cell phones help raise awareness about the environmental consequences of everyday activities.
With this idea in mind, what is known as the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) is aimed at public and private organizations, companies, and citizens who assume their responsibility towards climate change and voluntarily assume their commitment to “neutralize” their CO2 emissions using carbon credits that are used to create clean projects in developing countries.
The offsetting of CO2 emissions consists of the voluntary contribution of a monetary amount, proportional to the tons of CO2 generated, to a project that specifically aims to:
Capture several tons of CO2 equivalent to that generated in our activity by implementing a carbon sink project by reforestation.
Avoid the emission of several tons of CO2 equivalent to that generated in our activity using an energy-saving or efficiency project, replacing fossil fuels with renewable energies, waste treatment, or avoiding deforestation.
Some platforms allow people to calculate their CO2 emissions, for example, produced by the electricity they consume or by their car journeys, and to counteract these polluting gases with a personalized budget, by compensation area or by kilos of CO2 emitted and buy carbon credits to support various projects such as the reforestation of native forests to offset the carbon footprint of participating citizens and reduce desertification in reforested areas and soil degradation.
