Carbon Footprint

Introduction

By carbon footprint (CF), we mean the emission of greenhouse gases, in terms of CO2 equivalent, attributable to a product, an activity, an organization or an individual, estimated through a life cycle analysis (LCA - life cycle analysis). In other words, in the CF estimate, the different materials or activities that originate the emissions are considered, and these refer to the product or activity unit.

The logic of the CF is derived from that of the "ecological footprint", a concept coined in the mid-1990s and defined as "the overall bio-productive area used by a given human population (individual, family, community, nation) to produce the resources it consumes and to assimilate the waste it produces ”. While the ecological footprint considers different types of environmental impacts and pressures (for example, the occupation of physical space linked to an agricultural activity or the disposal of waste) and quantifies them in terms of the bio-productive land used, the CF considers only one of its components, that deriving from greenhouse gas emissions.

This calculator has been developed to highlight the carbon footprint of foods and to improve the generic calculations of computers such as Carbon Footprint that do not allow for updates and improvements in the calculation.

If you want to use it offline with excel, here is the corresponding exce

nick

n. component

Electric energy

Electricity load *

% renewable supplier *

Electricity feed in from renewable

CF electricity

(kg CO2eq/year), negative if the impact is positive (if emissions are avoided); Emission Factor (EF): 0.445 kg Co2eq./kwh per national mix with 36.6% renewable, Source

Emissions avoided

(kg CO2eq / year), emissions avoided available to others if renewable input is greater than the levy

Thermal energy

Heating / kitchen (natural gas, methane)

Heating / kitchen (LPG gas)

Heating (diesel)

Heating / kitchen (wood)

EF wood

CF Thermal energy

(kg CO2eq/year) Sources: methane, LPG, wood

Transport

Car

EF car

motorcycle

FE motorcycle

gCO2 / km / passenger; (motorcycle data) and average passengers. - motorcycle with a cylinder capacity of less than 125cc: 70 gCO2 / km - motorcycle with a cylinder capacity between 125cc and 500cc: 85 gCO2 / km - motorcycle with a cylinder capacity over 500cc: 112 gCO2 / km

Train

Bus+tram+MM

plane

CF transport

(kg CO2eq / year); Sources: Car: Emissions Guide , Moto , Train , Bus + tram + MM , Plane

Water and waste

Drinking water

Waste

CF water and waste

(kg CO2eq / year) Sources: Waste

Feeding

Considering one year of feeding, each food has a different impact, in the Emission Factor (EF) the default value is the average of the values accumulated in the study. However, these values can be modified, a minimum and a maximum are indicated in the comment. For example, in the case of meat from nearby breeding, it may be sensible to indicate the minimum if the supply chain is known and has little impact. On the other hand, it cannot be null except in rare cases (fruit and vegetables from its permaculture vegetable garden) because there are always impacts and the 'small is beautiful' and the 0 km are not sufficient conditions, indeed as the study says they can also to be inefficient. Another important consideration is that the waste of food on the whole supply chain is very impactful (20-30%) so it must at least consider the weight of the total food taken.

bovine meat

EF bovine meat

Lamb meat

EF Lamb meat

butter

EF butter

cheese

EF cheese

seafood

EF seafood

milk powder

EF milk powder

pork meat

EF pork meat

poultry meat

EF poultry meat

fish

EF fish

eggs

EF eggs

jams

EF jams

desserts

EF desserts

oil

EF oil

rice

EF rice

potato chips

EF potato chips

breakfast cereals

EF breakfast cereals

dried fruit

EF dried fruit

EF cookies

yogurt

EF yogurt

sauces

EF sauces

margarine

EF margarine

milk and cream

EF milk and cream

pasta

EF pasta

crackers

EF crackers

sweets (ice cream)

EF sweets (ice cream)

vegetables

EF vegetables

bread

EF bread

honey

EF honey

juice

EF juice

legumes

EF legumes

fresh fruit

EF fresh fruit

spices (salt, pepper ...)

EF spices (salt, pepper ...)

flour

EF flour

sugar

Ef sugar

cereals

EF cereals

other alcoholic beverages

EF other alcoholic beverages

wine

EF wine

beer

EF beer

other non-alcoholic drinks

EF other non-alcoholic drinks

bottled water

EF bottled water

CF feeding

(kg CO2eq / year) Sources: The carbon footprint of food

Carbon footprint values representative of 40 different types of food products (in brackets the number of IC values collected for each category is shown, on which the statistical indexes are calculated).
For beef meat the maximum value is out of scale and is equal to 83.5 kgCO 2 and / kg.

CF Italian average: 2737 kgCO2eq / year / person

CF replacing beef with poultry meat: 2372 kgCO2eq / year / person

CF Change from current to Mediterranean diet: 2226 kgCO2eq / year / person

CF Change from current to vegetarian diet: 2117 kgCO2eq / year / person
eliminating post-production food waste (retailers and consumers): 1788 kgCO2eq / year / person

Results

CF total per person

Emissions avoided

(kg CO2eq / year / person), total avoided emissions available to others

The average carbon footprint of the inhabitants in Italy is 5270 kg CO2eq / year / person

The average carbon footprint for industrialized nations is about 11000 kg CO2eq / year / person

The average global carbon footprint is 4000 kg CO2eq / year / person.

The worldwide goal to combat climate change with a 1.5 ° objective:

carbon budget: 420 GtCO2 (ref. SR15_SPM C.1.3), per person 52 tCO2, net zero around 2050.

Targets

Political actions

Leave this field blank

IPCC Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5 ºC