This section has information on ecological footprint and carbon footprint. Very few people know where their carbon footprint comes from. If you know, you can act to reduce it.

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT:

On the Planet, there’s about 11.5 billion hectares that are biologically productive. Divided by the number of people we get an average of roughly 1.8 hectares of ecological and productive space. Worldwide, we use an average 2.2 hectares so that’s more than what we have. It’s like spending more money than what we earn. (Source: Dr Mathis Wackernagel, Global Footprint Network)

WATER CONSUMPTION:

The worldwide farm animal water consumption is equivalent to 140,000 litres per person per year.

Water used each day per person taking into account washing, cleaning, cooking and flushing is: 150 litres. About 1/3 of the water each person uses on a daily basis is wasted – it runs straight down the plughole or down the toilet without being used. (Waterwise)

Annual water consumption per person: 1,241,000 litres (3400 litres daily). This includes in particular water used in feeding cattle, producing our clothes and the stuff we buy. Particularly voracious in water is clothing and cattle so an easy way to reduce your environmental impact there is to stop eating meat or eat less (particularly beef and lamb) and buy second hand clothes whenever you can.

WASTE:

Toxic Waste left behind by corporations producing consumer goods per person per year: 1.7 tonnes

The amount of waste generated in the process of creating the stuff we buy is (our estimate, extrapolated from Natural Capitalism): 370 tonnes per person per year.

Waste we produce per person per year: 592 kilos.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS:

A single European consumes 50 tonnes of our Planet’s resources each year. (The Planet Documentary)
£11.96 per person is spent on illegal wood products. That means we actively sponsor those responsible for deforestation. (The Ecologist, 4/09, p43)

0.73 hectares per person of productive agricultural land have been lost to degradation since 1945. (The Ecology of Commerce, Paul Hawken, p23)

Livestock excrement per person per year: 2.5 tonnes compared to human excrement per person per year: 41 kilos (Source)

HUMAN LOSSES:

25 million people a year die of pesticide poisoning. (The Ecology of Commerce, Paul Hawken, p26) 

5000 people a day die because of dirty drinking water and one billion people have no access to safe drinking water. (Source)

Global warming causes 300,000 deaths a year and is affecting 300 million people. (Source)

ADVERTISING EXPOSURE:

The average adult sees 21,000 adverts a year. (The Ecology of Commerce, Paul Hawken, p131)

CARBON EMISSIONS:

Notes on the charts:

Carbon Footprint of consumption: 3.7 tonnes, 26-35% of an average individual’s carbon footprint

The average Brit spends about £4,400 a year on new goods and services that generate an average 3.7 tonnes of CO2. That means that for every £1.20 we spend, one kilo of CO2 is generated. (BBC Bloom & Chris Goodall)
The three largest components of that consumption are: oil and gas extraction at 700 kilos, metal manufacture and processing at 500 kilos and transport by sea 500 kilos per person. This indicates that we should strive to avoid imported goods wherever possible and avoid the purchase of new cars or heavy cars. Another interesting fact is that Chris Goodall calculated that the average carbon footprint of the clothes we buy could be as much as one tonne, based on the fact the average individual buys 35 kilos of clothes each year. There is not enough data on the carbon footprint of clothing so take this fact with a pinch of salt.

Carbon Footprint from Flying: 3.6 tonnes, 25% of an average individual’s carbon footprint

50% of the British population doesn’t fly. The average carbon footprint of the aviation industry per individual is 1.8 tonnes, multiply by 2 and you get 3.6 tonnes. This number is slightly misleading. If you fly to Spain or South of France only once a year, your carbon footprint from flying will be below one tonne. It becomes much higher if you fly frequently or on long haul flights. For example, an Australian living in the UK and going back home once a year to Sydney will emit the equivalent of 12.8 tonnes of CO2. This would represent 54% of their annual emissions and put their average carbon footprint 118% above average.  

Flying is theoretically one of the areas where it is easiest to reduce one’s carbon footprint. Unfortunately, most people outright refuse to diminish the amount of flying they do as it is construed as an essential element of their lifestyle. This however, is the single area where applying self-restriction is most important.

Carbon Footprint from Driving: 1.2 tonnes per individual, 2.4 tonnes per car, 10% of an average individual’s carbon footprint

This statistic can be misleading. It is based on someone driving a car with a fuel efficiency of 32.9 miles per gallon. However, someone driving Mitsubishi Shogun 4*4 or a Land Rover Discovery will emit between 4 and 5 tonnes of CO2 whilst someone driving a Toyota Prius or a Citroen C2 will emit between 1.3 and 1.6 tonnes.

Home Energy Consumption Carbon Footprint: 2.3 tonnes, 5.3 tonnes per home, 18% of an average individual’s carbon footprint

The bulk of a household’s emissions comes from household heating (3.6 tonnes) followed by appliances (0.6 tonnes). A good deal of the energy that is used in heating is wasted through poor insulation and an inefficient boiler whilst the emissions from appliances can be reduced a great deal by selecting ones that are A++ rated on renewal.

Food Consumption Carbon Footprint: 2.1 tonnes, 4.83 tonnes per household, 17% of an average individual’s carbon footprint

Very few people realize just how polluting our consumption of food is. Reducing it involves the following:
Stop eating beef completely and try to reduce your consumption of other meat and dairy.

 Try to eat seasonal and local as often as possible. According to BBC Bloom, this alone can cut down your carbon footprint by one tonne. The easiest way to achieve that is to either buy a weekly organic box or to buy your fruit and veg at a local farmers market.

Avoid eating packaged and processed food. Home cooking is far less carbon intensive than buying ready prepared meals. Chris Goodall thinks it is up to 2.5 times more effective to cook at home than to buy prepared meals.

Workplace Carbon Footprint: 1.5 tonnes, 12% of an average individual’s carbon footprint

Here again, the figure varies a lot depending on the profession. Since writing his book, Mr Goodall has changed his estimates of the carbon footprint of the workplace and places them at closer to 2 tonnes. Short of completely changing your lifestyle and working from home or starting your own business, it is difficult to reduce the footprint associated from working. Even if you work at home, you’ll end up using more energy than you normally would so it is questionable whether that will make a difference or not.

It is important to note that service companies are responsible for a great deal more carbon emissions than is commonly perceived. Many large service sector companies emit 3-4 tonnes of CO2 per person (for more information on this, view Mr Goodall’s Pdf).

Links to carbon footprint calculators:

http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

http://www.foodcarbon.co.uk/

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/calculator/start

https://www.atmosfair.de/index.php?id=9&L=3 (this is the best calculator for assessing the real emissions from flying)