How to measure carbon footprint using open data

The carbon footprint is a key indicator for understanding the environmental impact of our actions. It measures the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere as a result of human activities, most notably the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal. These gases, which include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), contribute to global warming by trapping heat in the earth's atmosphere.

Many actions are being carried out by different organisations to try to reduce the carbon footprint. These include those included in the European Green Pact or the Sustainable Development Goals. But this is an area where every small action counts and, as citizens, we can also contribute to this goal through small changes in our lifestyles.

Moreover, this is an area where open data can have a major impact. In particular, the report "The economic impact of open data: opportunities for value creation in Europe (2020)" highlights how open data has saved the equivalent of 5.8 million tonnes of oil every year in the European Union by promoting greener energy sources. This include 79.6 billion in cost savings on energy bills.

This article reviews some solutions that help us measure our carbon footprint to raise awareness of the situation, as well as useful open data sources .

Calculators to know your carbon footprint

The European Union has a web application where everyone can analyse the life cycle of products and energy consumed in five specific areas (food, mobility, housing, household appliances and household goods), based on 16 environmental impact indicators. The user enters certain data, such as his energy expenditure or the details of his vehicle, and the solution calculates the level of impact. The website also offers recommendations for improving consumption patterns. It was compiled using data from Ecoinvent y Agrifoot-print, as well as different public reports detailed in its methodology.

The UN also launched a similar solution, but with a focus on consumer goods. It allows the creation of product value chains by mapping the materials, processes and transports that have been used for their manufacture and distribution, using a combination of company-specific activity data and secondary data. The emission factors and datasets for materials and processes come from a combination of data sources such as Ecoinvent, the Swedish Environment Institute, DEFRA (UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), academic papers, etc. The calculator is also linked to the the Platform for carbon footprint offsetting of the United Nations. This allows users of the application to take immediate climate action by contributing to UN green projects. 

Looking at Spain, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has several tools to facilitate the calculation of the carbon footprint aimed at different audiences: organisations, municipalities and farms. They take into account both direct emissions and indirect emissions from electricity consumption. Among other data sources, it uses information from National Greenhouse Gas Inventory. It also provides an estimate of the carbon dioxide removals generated by an emission reduction project.

Another tool linked to this ministry is ComidaAPrueba, launched by the Fundación Vida Sostenible and aimed at finding out the sustainability of citizens' diets. The mobile application, available for both iOs and Android, allows us to calculate the environmental footprint of our meals to make us aware of the impact of our actions. It also proposes healthy recipes that help us to reduce food waste.

But not all actions of this kind are driven by public bodies or non-profit associations. The fight against the deterioration of our environment is also a niche market offering business opportunities. Private companies also offer solutions for calculating the carbon footprint, such as climate Hero, which is based on multiple data sources.

Data sources to feed carbon footprint calculators

As we have seen, in order to make these calculations, these solutions need to be based on data that allow them to calculate the relationship between certain consumption habits and the emissions generated. To do this, they draw on a variety of data sources, many of which are open. In Spain, for example, we find:

• National Statistics Institute (INE). The INE provides data on atmospheric emissions by branch of activity, as well as for households. It can be filtered by gas type and its equivalence in thousands of tonnes of CO2. It also provides data on the historical evolution of the achievement of carbon footprint reduction targets, which are based on the National Inventories of Emissions to the Atmosphere, prepared by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
• Autonomous Communities. Several regional governments carry out inventories of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere. This is the case of the Basque Country and the Community of Madrid. Some regions also publish open forecast data, such as the Canary Islands, which provides projections of climate change in tourism or drought situations.

Other international data services to consider are:

• EarthData. This service provides full and open access to NASA' s collection of Earth science data to understand and protect our planet. This web provides links to commonly used data on greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, chlorofluorocarbons and water vapour, as well as information on their environmental impact.
• Eurostat. The Statistical Office of the European Commission regularly publishes estimates of quarterly greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union, broken down by economic activity. The estimates cover all quarters from 2010 to the present.
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This platform is the EU's knowledge base on sustainable production and consumption. It provides a product life cycle inventory for supply chain analysis. Data from business associations and other sources related to energy carriers, transport and waste management are used.
• Our World in Data. One of the most widely used datasets of this portal contains information on CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions through key metrics. Various primary data sources such as the US Energy Information Agency and The Global Carbon Project have been used for its elaboration. All raw data and scripts are available in their GitHub repository.

These repositories are just a sample, but there are many more sources whit valuable data to help us become more aware of the climate situation we live in and the impact our small day-to-day actions have on our planet. Reducing our carbon footprint is crucial to preserving our environment and ensuring a sustainable future. And only together will we be able to achieve our goals.