A carbon footprint is commonly considered to be a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, often measured in units of carbon dioxide. The greenhouse gases are generated by the fossil fuels we burn to sustain our everyday living. The carbon footprint of any individual, business, or country can be measured.
Measuring carbon footprints is not without its detractors, from those who question whether man's carbon emissions are creating the greenhouse effect to those who argue that methane emissions are a better measure of environmental impact. For better or worse, however, the term "carbon footprint" has caught on as the most popular shorthand reference to any entity's environmental impact.
For our purposes, the carbon footprint can be a useful measuring stick. If we can determine each of our carbon footprints before adopting green strategies and then measure our carbon footprints again some period after making the changes, we should be able to determine if our changes are having any environmental impact.
The drawback, for many small businesses, in measuring carbon footprint is that a reduction in the carbon footprint doesn't necessarily translate into cost savings. You may well save money in the process of reducing your carbon footprint, but there is no guarantee of a direct relationship. Thus, measuring the carbon footprint addresses the psychic benefits of going green--feeling better about yourself and your environmental impact--more than it does the cost benefits of going green. Even so, those psychic benefits can have value. Surely you will feel better about going green if the changes you implement both save you money and produce less pollution than if they only save you money.
To measure your carbon footprint, you can go to any number of websites, including the following:
Depending upon the site, you may be asked for various pieces of information, such your monthly gas and electric bills. You may also be asked about your work and travel habits.
Although the carbon footprint is the most popular measurement, it is not the only one. For an alternative, see Kilowatts Hours.