Carbon Footprint

The footprint turns many gases into one number. Methane, nitrous oxide and others are converted into carbon dioxide equivalent according to how strongly each warms the atmosphere, then added up. For an organisation the boundary is the hard part: a narrow footprint counts only its own fuel and electricity, while a wide one adds suppliers, staff travel, product use and disposal. For a product, a life-cycle view runs from raw material to waste. Methods such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol set the counting rules so that two footprints can be compared. Footprints are the starting point for targets, carbon pricing and disclosure, and a footprint stated without its boundary says little. Without a stated boundary, two footprints cannot be compared, and every later target inherits the gap.

A regional dairy company measures its footprint for the first time. Its own boilers and vehicles account for 8% of the total, purchased electricity for 5%, and farm milk supply, packaging and distribution for the remaining 87%. The result shows management that cutting plant energy alone would barely move the figure, and the sustainability team shifts attention to farm practices.