The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
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In this article we’ll explore what the CBAM is, why it’s been created, and what importers need to know ahead of its introduction.
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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.
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 – they’re usually quick and easy to use, giving you 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.
“ 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. ”
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.
After the click of a few buttons and few calculations, you’ll have an idea of your current CO₂ levels and how 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 environment impact.
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 – we’ve compiled the top 5 carbon footprint calculators for you to begin your journey to carbon neutrality.
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 reasons why reducing your individual or company carbon footprint is important in the U.S.:
- 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;
- Helps to prevent the world from exceeding global surface temperatures by 1.5 °C or on a catastrophic scale;
- Promote the importance of protecting the planet despite what most Americans think about climate change;
- 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, knowledge is power – meaning that knowing more about your current impact could actually help you to reduce it further down the road.
Our Top 5 Carbon Footprint Calculators in the U.S.
There are a wide-variety of 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 personalized team of 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. ”
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.
💡 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 recommendations about 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.
Here are just 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
- 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.
2. CoolClimate Calculator
Created by the University of California, Berkeley to help users track and reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, the CoolClimate calculator is the most comprehensive personal ecological footprint calculator on the list.
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
- You work remotely and want to better understand your ecological habits while working from home
- You live within the United States
Pros and Cons
CoolClimate offers a comprehensive analysis of household carbon emissions. 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 con of CoolClimate is that if you live outside the United States, the estimate generated won’t be completely accurate.
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. 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.
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 a pretty good 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 don’t care about user-interface or design and just want results, Carbon Footprint Ltd is a great option.
4. Conservation International Carbon Footprint Calculator
Conservation International has been working since 1987 to protect our environment and help others understand the vital role that nature plays in society. Their conservation efforts have saved more than 6 million km2 of land across 70 different countries.
To supplement their environmental stewardship, they’ve engineered a CO₂ calculator for individuals, households, events, and single trips.
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 big benefit to using Conservation International’s carbon calculator is that they are a trusted conservation organization and they provide you an instant tax-deductible outlet to offset your carbon emissions.
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, 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
The UN has their own calculator to round out our list. The massive multilateral organization is committed to promoting environmental stewardship and, love them or hate them, they 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
The UN's carbon footprint calculator offers the following features:
- Country-specific data to help your household or business measure their impact to a tee
- Pre-selected carbon offset projects to help you further reduce your impact
- Collaborative efforts including working to partner with indigenous communities
Pros and Cons
The major pros of using the UN’s carbon calculator are that you can use country-specific data and select the exact project that you want your carbon offset purchases to go to.
👉 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.
It’s good 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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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.
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