carbon footprint

A phrase to describe the effect one's daily activities, such as washing clothes or driving to work, have on the environment. Specifically it is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.

Click on the link below to calculate your primary carbon footprint, based on your household fuel bills and your annual travel!

Here's a real world example: As of April 2008, FIJI Water has taken positive steps to reduce their carbon footprint and are now the first carbon negative beverage brand on the market. Now, FIJI Water is committed to:

• Reducing their carbon footprint by at least 25% over the next three years
• Offsetting their carbon footprint by 120% to make FIJI Water carbon negative

What did they do? They measured their carbon footprint by taking a close look at everything required to get the product to the consumers from raw materials production through final consumption including bottling, transportation and distribution.