What is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint is a measure of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by a process, product, organisation or individual. There are many different tools to help you calculate a cargbon footrpint: you put in information on the amount of fuel and the units of electricity you use, for example, and the number of cars and mileage travelled – and out pops a ‘carbon footprint’ report.  This is based on emissions factors such as are published by the Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).   (The footprint is measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) over 100 years.  This is because other gasses such as methane have the same warming effect and remain active in the atmosphere for differing periods of time).