3.2 Web-based footprint calculators

Here is a list of some web-based footprint calculators for you to try out.

  • The UK government’s official carbon calculator with a highly graphical interface or a Flash version (for broadband only).

  • WWF’s carbon footprint calculator has a wider scope, bringing in food and ‘stuff’.

  • Google’s carbon calculator for the UK allows you to plot your footprint on a Google map.

  • Warwick University has a carbon calculator.

  • The National Energy Foundation has two carbon calculators, one aimed at consumers wanting to pledge to make reductions and one for conversion calculations from energy and distances: a consumer version with pledges and a simple carbon calculator.

  • The Carbon Footprint Company is a carbon-offset company that has a carbon calculator.

  • The Carbon Neutral Company is another carbon-offset company that has a carbon calculator.

  • JP Morgan ClimateCare is another carbon-offset company that has a carbon calculator, which shows that big financial institutions see a profit in footprinting and carbon offsetting.

  • Carbon Clear has simple driving and air carbon calculators as part of its carbon-offset product.

Activity 3

Nine UK carbon footprint calculators are listed above, but there are many others. Try to persuade a friend to work through a couple and then compare notes. What features did you like best (or least) about them? Is it better to have a simple, quick calculator or one that includes a lot of additional information as you work through the calculator? And you will find that there are some more calculators still to come …

3 Calculating your carbon footprint

4 Comparing your carbon footprint with other people's