How to calculate your carbon footprint
Your carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gases your lifestyle causes in a year, measured in tonnes of CO₂-equivalent (tCO₂e). Here's how to work it out without a spreadsheet.
The five things that matter most
For most people, the bulk of the footprint comes from a handful of categories. Estimate each and add them up:
- Travel. Car mileage and flights are often the single biggest slice.
- Home energy. Heating, cooling, and electricity — lower if you're on renewables.
- Diet. Red meat and dairy carry far more emissions than plants.
- Goods & services. Everything you buy has an embodied footprint.
- Shared infrastructure. A baseline everyone carries — roads, hospitals, public services.
A quick method
- Estimate your yearly driving, flights, home energy, diet, and spending.
- Apply a published emission factor to each (or let a calculator do it).
- Add them, plus a small baseline for shared public infrastructure.
- Compare to the average — 4 tCO₂e in some countries, 16+ in others.
Prefer to skip the arithmetic? Our carbon footprint calculator does all five in about two minutes and gives you a tonnes-per-year number.
Then what?
A number is only useful if you act on it. Reduce where you realistically can — the biggest levers are usually flights, driving, and diet — then offset the remainder with a monthly subscription that funds verified climate projects.
FAQ
What is a carbon footprint measured in?
Tonnes of CO₂-equivalent per year (tCO₂e) — a single unit that combines CO₂ and other greenhouse gases by their warming effect.
What's the average carbon footprint?
It varies hugely by country — roughly 4 tonnes per person in some places and over 16 in others. The global average is around 4–5 tonnes.
How accurate are footprint calculators?
They're good estimates, not audits. They use published average emission factors, so treat the result as directional — useful for deciding where to cut and how much to offset.
What's the fastest way to shrink my footprint?
For most people: fly less, drive less or switch to electric, eat less red meat and dairy, and move to renewable home energy. Offset what's left.