10 Reasons to Track a Corporate Carbon Footprint
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In this article, we’ll explain what a corporate carbon footprint is, why it’s important, how it is measured, and reasons why your company should track it too.
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5 Best Carbon Footprint Calculators
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Reducing your carbon dioxide and GHG emissions isn't something that can be done on a whim, just like any other long-term goal – as you’ll need to determine your current carbon footprint to understand where is best to start in your new climate journey.
According to environmental scientists and sustainability experts, using the best carbon footprint calculator appropriate for your needs is essential for establishing an accurate emissions baseline.
No matter which language you speak, where in the world your household or company is located, or the surrounding communities your business is established in – reliable carbon measurement tools are usually quick and easy to use, providing you with developed, actionable results in a matter of minutes.
One of the best ways to measure your current environmental impact is with a carbon footprint calculator – as this serves as a first step to manage and reduce methane, carbon, and other GHG emissions.
There are a lot of carbon footprint calculators on the internet offering to help you measure your footprint and do your bit to mitigate climate change, but luckily – after rigorous testing and evaluation against industry standards, we've compiled the top 5 best carbon footprint calculators for you to begin your climate journey.
What is a Carbon Footprint Calculator?
A carbon footprint calculator is a specialized digital tool that quantifies an individual's or organization's greenhouse gas emissions based on specific lifestyle and operational factors via the use of scientifically validated methodologies and emission factors from authoritative sources such as the EPA and IPCC.
These calculators can be used to measure the carbon impact of daily activities, such as with the following:
Transportation
Track emissions from commuting, flights, and personal vehicles — a major contributor to total CO₂e.
Energy Use
Calculate emissions from electricity, heating, cooling — including renewable vs non-renewable sources.
Diet & Food
Assess your food's footprint: meat-heavy diets emit far more CO₂e than plant-based eating habits.
Consumer Goods
Evaluate emissions from clothing, electronics, furniture and other goods — from production to disposal.
Waste & Recycling
Measure the climate impact of how you dispose of waste: landfill, compost, recycling, and more.
The best carbon footprint calculators provide not only a comprehensive emissions assessment but also personalized recommendations for reducing environmental impact through actionable steps. These tools serve as essential starting points for anyone serious about understanding their contribution to climate change and implementing evidence-based strategies to reduce their carbon footprint.
Carbon footprint caclulators can help provide companies with the emissions data needed to kick-start their climate journey. This is done as carbon footprint calculators ask questions about your habits: such as such as your consumption of fuel oil, waste, use of gasoline, how many hours you drive your type of car on average, how many tons of propane or carbon dioxide you emit per gallon, or total amount of clothes purchased per year, and efforts to recycle.
“ The great thing about carbon footprint calculators is that they’re usually quick and easy to use, and can give you tangible results in a matter of minutes – coupled with personalized action plans according to your carbon footprint calculation. ”
After the click of a few buttons and few calculations, you'll have a quantifiable measurement of your current CO₂ levels and evidence-based strategies to save tons moving forward.
Essentially, once you know your company's carbon impact, it'll be easier to jump-start the journey to reducing your environmental impact.
Why is Using a Carbon Footprint Calculator Important?
A Carbon Footprint Calculator is important as it is one of the most useful tools in the fight to combat climate change as it helps individuals and companies alike better understand their environmental impact and to take effective action towards reducing their ecological footprint.
“ Think of a carbon footprint calculator the same way a trainer will way you on the scale, or a savings account in a bank will tell you how much further you have to go until you reach your goal. People and businesses who opt to determine their current environmental impact before seeking to reduce it can gain better insight into what is required for them to reach their climate-related goals. ”
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Many companies will adjust their energy usage calculated based on how many carbon credits a company should purchase to help in offsetting their emissions from various land usage, destruction of forests, or other various projects which create excess emissions.
Here are a few other evidence-based reasons why reducing your individual or company carbon footprint is important in the United States:
- According to data from the EPA, the United States remains the second largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, meaning that every person and company that makes an effort to reduce their carbon footprint is making a difference;
- Research from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) demonstrates that carbon reduction helps to prevent the world from exceeding global surface temperatures by 1.5 °C or on a catastrophic scale;
- Environmental impact studies show that promoting the importance of protecting the planet can shift public perception and behavior, regardless of what most Americans think about climate change;
- Compliance experts from BCG confirm that carbon footprint reduction assists companies within the U.S. to comply with other environmental regulations and nation-wide protocols, such as with the SEC Climate Disclosure Rule.
When it comes to any effort to reducing your individual or company-wide carbon footprint, accurate measurement and fundamental knowledge is power – as peer-reviewed studies consistently show meaning that seeking to learn more about your current impact could actually help your company to achieve significantly greater emissions reductions over time.
Our Top 5 Carbon Footprint Calculators in the U.S.
There are a wide-variety of scientifically-validated options to choose from if your company is looking to better understand its current environmental impact, or even if you want to know how much your individual household emits every month.
We've complied our top 5 calculators that individuals and businesses in the U.S. alike can use to kick-start their climate journey.
1. Greenly Calculator
Our calculator at Greenly is the perfect option for all business regardless of size and sector – as our certified climate experts will be sure to guide you through every step of the way to understand which sustainable actions will prove most effective to mitigate further negative impacts.
“ Greenly specializes in corporate carbon tracking. Our focus is to help businesses measure, track, and reduce their environmental impact using methodologies aligned with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and verified by third-party auditors. ”
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Key Offerings
Greenly’s carbon calculator boasts a user-friendly interface and aesthetically appealing website that makes it fun to find out your carbon footprint.
Greenly calculates your footprint based on the number of employees, size of office space, company vehicles, heat source, business flights and transportation, and office electronics by using verified emissions factors.
Greenly’s paid platform offers more in-depth analysis and updated carbon tracking.
When you subscribe to our services as Greenly, you can add your recent purchases and consumption data to our database, and we'll show your carbon emission trends over time, while making evidence-based recommendations regarding areas where these negative impacts can be reduced in an approachable manner.
Pros and Cons
The biggest benefit of Greenly's carbon calculator is the in-depth, intuitive carbon tracking service we offer to businesses in all industries, which have been validated through rigorous testing and comparison with industry benchmarks.
Here are a few of the benefits when choosing Greenly to calculate your carbon footprint:
- We store data and track changes to show you the effect that they have on your company’s carbon output with quantifiable metrics and transparent methodology
- We have a simple, user-friendly interface and an easy-to-navigate platform
- We're fully committed to our mission of helping businesses reverse climate change, as we're a certified B corporation
In addition to this, Greenly offers services to help companies comply with the requirements of CSRD, SBTi, and even a climate app store to support companies in their climate journey.
However, it's important to remember that Greenly's carbon calculator is designed for business use, not personal use – as confirmed by our product development team.
2. CoolClimate Calculator
Created by renewable energy researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and validated through peer-reviewed methodologies, the CoolClimate calculator is the most comprehensive personal ecological footprint calculator on the list to help users track and reduce their carbon dioxide emissions.
Key Offerings
CoolClimate may be the right climate tool for you if:
- You're looking to become more sustainable in your everyday life and implement green living practices based on scientifically proven impact reduction strategies
- You work remotely and want to better understand your ecological habits while working from home using location-specific emissions factors
- You live within the United States, which is where the calculator's data models have been most extensively verified
Pros and Cons
CoolClimate offers a comprehensive analysis of household carbon emissions using methodologies aligned with consumption-based greenhouse gas accounting.
Use the ‘Advanced’ section to go below surface level emissions and really dissect the impact that your habits have on the environment. If you live in the United States, you can use regional data to get a more accurate picture of your carbon footprint.
The main drawback of CoolClimate is that if you live outside the United States, the estimate generated won’t be completely accurate, as confirmed by the Berkeley research team's own methodology documentation.
Alternative Choice for Those Outside the United States
Do you live outside of the United States and worry that CoolClimate may not be as effective for you?
Try OCE's carbon footprint calculator – which offers region specific data as you fill out the questionnaire. However, it is important to remember that while this calculator can be used for businesses, it is best suited for individual use.
Ultimately, you can still use CoolClimate's calculator to get an idea of your environmental impact and recommendations to improve your ecological footprint, but they'll be based on the energy grid of the United States, and might give you a skewed reading of your carbon footprint.
3. CarbonFootprint.com Calculator
Carbon Footprint Ltd provides a comprehensive service that allows you to measure, reduce, and offset your carbon footprint using methodologies aligned with ISO 14064 and the GHG Protocol. An added bonus for businesses is that CarbonFootprint.com also provides guidance to comply with certain climate regulations.
Key Offerings
Based in the UK, Carbon Footprint Ltd is made for businesses to track their carbon emissions and improve their ecological footprint. However, they also offer a complete calculator for individuals as well – making this a great choice for both households and companies – with calculations verified against national emissions databases.
Pros and Cons
The CarbonFootprint.com calculator allows for better regional calculation than most carbon calculators. Accumulating data on worldwide emissions is no small task, but this calculator does an effective job.
While not as accurate as a region-specific carbon footprint calculator might be, it is the best option on this list for calculating environmental impact anywhere in the world – making it great for those with more than one residence or business offices located across the globe.
This calculator also allows you to offset your emissions directly through the website once you’ve calculated your impact.
Carbon Footprint Ltd offers great resources for businesses to track, reduce, and comply. A lot of policy help is available on their website to ensure businesses know what is needed of them to report and comply with their standards.
The only real downside of the CarbonFootprint.com calculator is that their user interface is functional, but not state-of-the-art. It crunches data well but lacks the bells and whistles accompanying some of the other calculators on this list. If you're indifferent regarding user-interface or design and are only seeking results, Carbon Footprint Ltd is a great option.
4. Conservation International Carbon Footprint Calculator
Founded in 1987, Conservation International is a globally recognized environmental nonprofit that has been working for almost 40 years to protect our environment and help others understand the vital role that nature plays in society. Their conservation efforts have saved more than 2.3 million square miles (6 million square kilometers) of land across 70 different countries.
As part of their science-based climate action initiatives, they’ve engineered a CO₂ calculator for individuals, households, events, and single trips – which has been developed in partnership with climate scientists and environmental experts.
Key Offerings:
Conservation International might be the right calculator for you if:
- Contributing to global biodiversity and protecting humanity are imperative from your point-of-view
- Preserving oceans, air quality, and global economies amidst climate change are important to you
- You're looking for a calculator that bases its findings via science and intensive data research
Pros and Cons
The main benefit to using Conservation International’s carbon calculator is that they are a trusted conservation organization with over 35 years of environmental protection expertise, in addition to providing you with an instant tax-deductible outlet to offset your carbon emissions.
The organization's carbon offset projects are verified by third-party standards including the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCB).
The drawback of this ecological footprint calculator are that it is not region specific — nor is it particularly detailed. It provides a simple estimate of your carbon calculation, but cannot provide locale-specific details – which can prove helpful when looking to reduce your ecological impact.
Overall, Conservation International is a great service for those looking to buy offsets from a reputable conservation organization, but it's light on the detail and information for those looking to track and reduce their carbon footprint long-term.
5. UN Carbon Footprint Calculator
Last, but not least, the UN has developed their own carbon footprint calculator. The United Nations Carbon Footprint Calculator represents a significant contribution from one of the world's leading environmental policy organizations. The massive multilateral organization is committed to promoting environmental stewardship and have plenty of experience in the sector.
However, their calculator is a relatively basic tool to calculate personal carbon emissions and doesn’t dive deep into the intricacies of carbon emissions the way you might expect from an organization with the resources of the United Nations.
Key Offerings
Established under the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN's carbon footprint calculator offers the following features:
- Geographically tailored data incorporating country-specific emission factors for more accurate household or business measurements
- Pre-selected and certified carbon offset projects vetted through the UN's selective environmental and social impact assessment process to help you further reduce your impact
- Collaborative efforts including working to partner with indigenous communities through the UN's Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) initiative
- Educational resources to better understand the science behind carbon emissions and climate change
Pros and Cons
The major advantages of using the UN’s carbon calculator are the ability to use country-specific data and to select the exact project your carbon offset purchases will support.
The main drawback of the UN calculator are that they don’t provide an in-depth picture of your carbon footprint. They collect minimal data and generate an estimated footprint based on your inputs.
The UN calculator is most useful for a quick calculation of your footprint and selecting a specific carbon offset project to fund, but it is not the deep dive into your habits that will help you track and reduce your carbon emissions over the long haul.
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How to Choose the Best Carbon Footprint Calculator For Your Company
It can be challenging to choose the right carbon footprint calculator for your company.
The table below will compare the benefits and drawbacks of each calculator, in addition to stating which businesses, such as by size, sector, and geographical region – could benefit from each calculator:
| Calculator | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Greenly |
- Tracks Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions - Designed for businesses of all sizes - Offers custom decarbonization plans - User-friendly dashboards and analytics |
- Paid service with tiered pricing - May be overbuilt for very small businesses or individuals |
| CoolClimate (UC Berkeley) |
- Free and backed by academic research - Tailored to U.S. users - Includes household, travel, and purchasing behaviors |
- U.S.-centric, limited global applicability - Focused more on individuals and small orgs |
| CarbonFootprint.com |
- Free calculator for individuals and small businesses - Simple, quick interface - Offers carbon offset options |
- Less robust analytics - Limited customization for enterprise needs |
| Conservation International |
- Clean design and mobile-friendly - Focused on awareness and action - Highlights offset and conservation opportunities |
- Limited geographic and emissions scope - Not suitable for business-level carbon accounting |
| UN Carbon Footprint Calculator |
- Free and globally recognized - Promotes UN sustainability messaging - Simple for individual users |
- Basic estimations - Lacks detailed reporting or scope-specific emissions breakdown |
The drop down section below will further delineate the main assets of each of these carbon footprint calculators to help your company make the most informed choice:
Top 5 Carbon Footprint Calculators
Greenly
Best for: Companies of all sizes needing full-scope tracking.
Greenly offers Scope 1, 2, and 3 tracking, compliance-ready reporting, personalized decarbonization plans, and strong customer support. It’s especially useful for SMEs and larger firms seeking automation and sustainability insights.
CoolClimate Calculator (UC Berkeley)
Best for: U.S.-based households and small organizations.
Developed by UC Berkeley, this tool offers regionally customized insights on emissions based on lifestyle, energy, and transportation behaviors. It’s highly educational and backed by academic research.
CarbonFootprint.com
Best for: Individuals and small businesses just getting started.
Offers a simple interface to measure emissions from travel, home energy, and transport. Provides links to verified carbon offset programs. Limited functionality for corporate or technical emissions tracking.
Conservation International Calculator
Best for: Raising awareness and offsetting at an individual level.
This beautifully designed tool helps users calculate and offset emissions through nature-based solutions. It’s mobile-friendly, but not intended for business-level or multi-scope carbon accounting.
UN Carbon Footprint Calculator
Best for: Individuals looking for global guidance and simplicity.
The UN’s calculator offers a quick overview of lifestyle-related emissions with global applicability. However, it lacks in-depth data analysis and is not suited for organizational or compliance use.
Overall, there are several carbon footprint calculators to choose from, but regardless of your decision in the end – choosing any of these calculators will be sure to help your company or household jump-start its efforts to a more sustainable future.
Remember, if you still don't know where to start – Greenly is always here to help!
What About Greenly?
If reading this article on the best 5 carbon footprint calculators has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!
At Greenly we can help you to assess your company’s carbon footprint, and then give you the tools you need to cut down on emissions. We offer a free demo for you to better understand our platform and all that it has to offer – including assistance with boosting supplier engagement, personalized assistance, and new ways to involve your employees.
Click here to learn more about Greenly and how we can help you reduce your carbon footprint.
Sources
EPA https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/carbon-footprint-calculator
Investopedia https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/092915/5-countries-produce-most-carbon-dioxide-co2.asp
IPCC https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
Science Direct https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266701002100192X
BCG https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/what-to-know-sec-climate-regulation
OCE https://www.oce.global/animations/CarbonFootprint-final/footprint.html
Carbon Footprint https://www.carbonfootprint.com/companiescalc.html
Conservation International https://www.conservation.org/places
VERRA https://verra.org/programs/verified-carbon-standard/
The Climate Community & Biodiversity Alliance https://www.climate-standards.org/
UN Environment Programme https://www.unep.org/
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