Carbon Footprint Calculations Made Simple with Visual

Carbon footprint calculations show the total greenhouse gas emissions from activities. It helps assess and reduce the environmental impact of these greenhouse gas emissions.

In this guide, you’ll discover what a carbon footprint is, what is meant by the term carbon footprint, and why carbon footprint calculations are important for business.

You’ll also discover things to consider when calculating your carbon footprint, carbon footprint calculation methods, and how to calculate your carbon footprint with examples.

This guide will introduce you to data visualization tools like the Sankey diagram in Power BI, and how to perform data analysis with the tool.

What is a Carbon Footprint?

Definition: A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (like carbon dioxide) emitted by human activities. It measures the environmental impact of individuals, products, or organizations. Carbon footprint is expressed in terms of equivalent carbon dioxide (CO₂e).

What is Meant by the Term Carbon Footprint?

Carbon footprint refers to the total amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted into the atmosphere due to human activities. It’s measured in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e) to account for various GHGs (like nitrous oxide and methane) that contribute to global warming.

Why are Carbon Footprint Calculations Important for Businesses?

1. Enhance sustainability: Reduction of carbon footprint aligns with the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and that appeals to environmentally conscious consumers.
2. Cost-savings: Reducing waste and optimizing energy use tend to lead to cost reductions.
3. Comply with regulations: Many regions are introducing carbon-related legislation, and that requires businesses to track and reduce emissions.
4. Reputation and branding: Businesses perceived to be environmentally responsible attract customers and investors who prioritize sustainability.

What types of Things to Consider When Calculating Your Carbon Footprint?

1. Energy Consumption: It accounts for the energy used in buildings, offices, or factories. These include electricity, cooling, and heating. It could be direct and indirect energy sources.
2. Transportation: It includes all modes of transport like company vehicles, employee commutes, air travel, and shipping logistics. You should also factor in fuel consumption and emissions.
3. Waste Generation: Consider the amount of waste produced and how it is disposed of. After all, waste management processes can release greenhouse gases.
4. Raw Materials and Supply Chain: It includes emissions from the sourcing, production, and transportation of products and materials.

What are the Carbon Footprint Calculation Methods?

1. Greenhouse Gas (GHS) Protocol: Emissions are categorized into three scopes — Scope 1 (direct emissions), Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased electricity), and Scope 3 (indirect emissions from the supply chain and other activities). It offers a structured approach for businesses.
2. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): It’s a comprehensive method that evaluates the environmental impact of a product (or service) from cradle to grave.
3. Energy-Based Method: With this method, emissions are calculated based on energy consumption, and conversion factors are used to estimate CO₂ equivalents.
4. Carbon Footprint Calculators: It’s the systematic tracking of emissions across operations using data on transportation, waste, and energy.

How to Calculate Your Carbon Footprint with Example?

Here are the steps to calculate your carbon footprint:

• Energy Consumption: Estimate the amount of energy you use. For instance, if you use 500 kWh of electricity per month, use an emission factor (usually 0.233 kg CO₂ per kWh) to calculate:

500 kWh x 0.233 kg CO₂/kWh = 116.5 kg CO₂.

• Transportation: Calculate emissions from your car travel. For instance, if you drive 1,000 miles per month in a vehicle emitting 0.411 kg CO₂ per mile, the emissions would be:

1,000 miles x 0.411 kg CO₂/mile = 411 kg CO₂.

• Waste Generation: Estimate emissions from waste disposal. For instance, if you dispose of 100 kg of waste per month, and the waste disposal generates 0.5 kg CO₂ per kg of waste, you’ll have:

100 kg x 0.5 kg CO₂ = 50 kg CO₂.

• Total Carbon Footprint: Add up all emissions:

116.5 + 411 + 50 = 577.5 KG CO₂ per month.

How to do Carbon Footprint Analysis in Power BI?

This section focuses on the Power BI service, and how to use Power BI. You’ll discover how to perform a thorough data presentation using the Power BI datasets. Furthermore, there are some Power BI design ideas, and Power BI report examples for you to explore in this section.

Here are the steps to help you perform thorough data visualizations in Power BI.

• Stage 1: Log into Power BI, enter your email, and click the “Submit” button.

• You’ll be redirected to a Microsoft account. Enter your password, and click “Sign in.”

• You can opt to stay signed in.

• Stage 2: Create a Data Set and Select the Data Set to Use in the Sankey Chart.
• Navigate to the left-side menu, and click on the “Create” option. After that, select “Paste or manually enter data.”

• Use the following Emission breakdown data for this illustration.

• Paste the data table above into the “Power Query” window. After that, select the “Create a dataset only” option.

• Navigate to the left-side menu, and click on the “Data Hub” option. Power BI populates the data set list. If no data set has been created, you’ll get an error message.

• Click on the “Create report” dropdown.

• To add the Power BI Sankey Diagram Extension by ChartExpo, you’ll have to use an add-in (or Power BI visual) from AppSource. First, navigate to the right side of the Power BI dashboard, and open the Power BI Visualizations panel. Click the ellipsis symbol (…) to import the Power BI Sankey Diagram extension by ChartExpo.
• In the menu that opens, select the “Get more visuals” option.

• In the following window that opens, enter “ChartExpo” in the highlighted search box. You’ll see the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo.”

• After that, click on the Sankey Diagram and also click the highlighted “Add” button.

• Power BI will add the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” icon in the visualization panel.

• To draw a Sankey Diagram with ChartExpo’s Power BI extension, select the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” icon in the visualization panel. A window similar to the one below opens in the report section of your dashboard. You’ll have to select the fields to use in the Sankey chart.

• You’ll have to provide your email address or a ChartExpo license key. Add the key under the Visual section. After that, you’ll see the Sankey Chart.

• You can add the top header text in the chart under the General section.

• You can add the header text at the top of the chart.

• You can disable the Numbers.

• You can add the colors of all Nodes.

• You can set the color direction as follows:

• Here’s the final look at the Emission breakdown analysis dashboard in Power BI using ChartExpo.

Note: As a Power BI user, you should consider exploring some Power BI advanced features like the filters in Power BI. But the features you’ll be using should be dependent on the Power BI data model you’re working on.

Insights:

The data shows emissions from energy and agricultural activities. CH₄ dominates from enteric fermentation and manure. N₂O on the other hand, arises from fertilizer use. CO₂ plays a vital role in feed production, energy, and transport. Managing these emissions helps in reducing environmental impact.

How to Use Your Carbon Footprints?

1. Identify Emission Hotspots: Review the carbon footprint data to identify activities that contribute the most to emissions.
2. Set Reduction Goals: Use the data from your analysis to set realistic targets for reducing the carbon footprint.
3. Implement Efficient Measures: Take action to reduce emissions. These could be switching to renewable energy sources, opting for electric vehicles, or improving energy efficiency.
4. Track Progress: Always monitor your carbon footprint to see how the reduction efforts are impacting emissions. Tools like Power BI or Carbon calculators can help you measure ongoing progress.
5. Offset Emissions: Invest in carbon offset programs (like supporting renewable energy projects or planting trees).

What are the Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint?

• Use Renewable Energy: Switch to wind, solar, or other renewable energy sources.
• Reduce Car Travel: Walk, bike, carpool, or use public transport to minimize emissions from personal vehicles.
• Offset Emissions: Invest in carbon offset programs to neutralize emissions.
• Adopt Electric Vehicles: You should consider switching to electric (or hybrid) cars).

Benefits of Decreasing Carbon Emissions

1. Mitigates Climate Change: It reduces the impact of global warming, and helps in preventing extreme weather events. It also prevents rising sea levels and biodiversity loss.
2. Improves Air Quality: It decreases pollutants like particulate matter and nitrogen oxide. This will, in turn, lead to cleaner air and better health outcomes.
3. Saves Energy and Costs: Energy efficiency measures help in reducing operational costs for households and businesses.
4. Boosts Health: It reduces cardiovascular and respiratory diseases linked to pollution.

FAQs

What is the most accurate carbon footprint calculator?

The most accurate carbon footprint calculators are usually those based on detailed data like Carbon Trust and EPA’s Carbon Footprint Calculator.

How do you calculate carbon footprint per person?

To calculate carbon footprint per person, track individual activities like transportation, food consumption, energy use, and waste generation. You also need to apply relevant emission factors to estimate CO₂ emissions per person over a period.

Wrap Up

Carbon footprint measures the total greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. It helps businesses track emissions so as to comply with regulations, enhance sustainability, reduce costs, and improve reputation with consumers.

But why should you focus on decreasing carbon emissions? It mitigates climate change and improves air quality. Reducing emissions reduces the impact of global warming, and it helps prevent extreme weather events. It also plays a role in preventing biodiversity loss and rising sea levels.

You can create a dashboard in Power BI, and use visualizations like the Sankey chart to represent total greenhouse gas emissions.

One way to get the most out of your visualizations is to incorporate data storytelling into it. And that involves incorporating it into both self-service analytics and the overall data analytics process. All these aid in the effective data evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions.