The Carbon Footprint of a Product

About

• Also known as a carbon profile, a carbon footprint refers to the total amount of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gas emissions associated with an activity or product. Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere through chemical reactions and by burning solid waste, wood and fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas and coal. Methane is emitted from livestock and agricultural processes, such as the decay of organic waste. It is also emitted through the production of coal, natural gas and oil. Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during combustion of solid waste and fossil fuels. Fluorinated gases are powerful synthetics emitted in industrial processes.
  
  

Measurement

• The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an internationally standardized method (ISOs 14040 and 14044) for the evaluation of the environmental impact and resources consumed during the life cycle of products; from the sourcing of raw materials through manufacturing and consumption by consumers to their final disposal or recycling. One of the key factors it measures is the impact in specific relation to climate change.
  
  

Quantification

• The carbon footprint is quantified using indicators including the Global Warning Potential (GWP), as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. A GWP indicates the relative effect of a greenhouse gas in terms of climate change over a fixed period of time, generally 100 years. The GWPs for the different emissions of a product or activity can then be added together to give a total contribution to climate change.
  
  

PFCs

• Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are very potent greenhouse gases, that can remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years. Large sources of PFC emissions are the highly electric-intensive process of aluminum production and solvents used for electronics and metals cleaning, which have low boiling points and easily convert to gases.
  
  

Cheeseburgers

• Based on studies by Stockholm University and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, considering the energy used by the food industry, Jamais Cascio, in an article for "Open the Future", calculated the carbon emissions of a fast food cheeseburger. His calculations covered the entire production process from growing and milling the wheat for the bun to the cost of pickling cucumbers through product delivery to the customer. The fuels used were then converted to carbon emissions, and the total being up to 1/2 kg of carbon emissions per cheeseburger. If the average American eats the average amount of cheeseburgers per year, the carbon emissions can be equated to the equivalent of the annual carbon output from as many as 15,000 SUVs.