What is the carbon footprint

He Carbon footprint term is used to represent the amount of greenhouse gases that are poured into the atmosphere as a consequence of the various activities of production and/or consumption of goods and services by the human being.

This is one of the most important tools within the quantification studies of the various greenhouse gases (GHG) found in the atmosphere. These Greenhouse Gases or GHG They constitute a permanent layer in the atmosphere that prevents solar radiation from being out of it, thus giving rise to the drastic temperature increase of the land we are living today.

More and more companies, organizations and administrative units that use the tool of the carbon footprint to quantify the GHG emissions that produce in their activities to inform consumers or general population, about how they contribute to a greater or lesser extent to climate change and demonstrating their mitigation attempts, seeking more sustainable production models.

Now that we already know the definition of carbon footprint and the context in which it is used, it is important to know the Difference between the carbon footprint and the ecological footprintanother very used concept in the world of sustainability.

However, the Ecological footprint refers exclusively to use that human beings make of natural resources. It is an environmental indicator that allows to determine, through the human-nature being relationship, if the speed with which the different natural resources are appropriate is the appropriate with respect to their ability to regenerate naturally.

That is, ecological uses of all natural resources are made, without exhausting their stocks and allowing future generations to continue using them and benefiting from them.

Both tools are very useful to know and be aware of the various factors that are involved every time the human being makes use of any natural resource, as well as the consequences that these actions entail.

To be able to know the Greenhouse gas emission Related to the main human activities, numerous studies have worked during the last decades to create different models and calculation methods of the carbon footprint, among which the Product carbon footprint calculation (HCP).

This model allows the calculation of all greenhouse gas emissions that occur throughout the life cycle of any product manufactured by the human being (clothing, footwear, drinks, food, furniture, etc.), from the extraction of the raw material, through the manufacturing and distribution stages, to the subsequent use that consumers make of the product and finally, during the product management process as residue.

For the quantification of the product carbon footprint, the methodology that is followed is the following:

• The objective of the study is defined: as well as the product process diagram to be studied and all stages of said process are identified in which greenhouse gases are generated.
• The data is collected and the inventory obtained is analyzed: Paying special attention to the gas emission factors that will be used in the calculation of the carbon footprint.
• The impacts are evaluated and the GHG emissions are determined: Through the multiplication of the data obtained by a series of emission factors (something technical and complex that are not necessary to understand with a global vision what the calculation of the carbon footprint consists of).
• Finally, The results are interpreted: By preparing a report of the carbon footprint of the product studied and the results are communicated to the companies, organizations and/or interested consumers.

Here we explain more about how to reduce greenhouse gases in these two articles.

To finish this interesting article about the carbon footprint, we cite several forms that would allow us reduce carbon footprint in our day to dayby reducing the production and consumption of products that generate greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) to the atmosphere:

• Use less polluting means of transportation.
• Travel through ecological tourism: Accommodations, transport and leisure activities respectful of the environment. We tell you more about ecotourism: definition and characteristics.
• Reduce the amount of red meat and dairy products: since they come from cattle that higher senior gases release the atmosphere.
• Avoid the consumption of food that are not seasonal: or that come from other countries and even continents, thus favoring local consumption and avoiding the so -called “kilometric foods”, which entail the emission of large amounts of greenhouse gases during transport from the production areas to the stores that sell them.

Know more ideas about how to reduce my carbon footprint in this other Ecology Verde.

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