The Carbon Footprint

Fighting climate change is no longer just a global challenge; it has become a community-based, and increasingly personal, responsibility. Fortunately, more and more people today recognize that their lifestyle choices, consumption habits, and energy use have a direct impact on the environment and the future of our planet.

In this growing environmental movement, reducing our carbon footprint plays a key role. It offers a tangible way to minimize the harmful effects of human activity on the planet.

What is a Carbon Footprint?

A carbon footprint is a measurement that shows how much greenhouse gas is emitted directly or indirectly into the atmosphere as a result of an individual’s, a community’s, or a company’s activities, or even the full lifecycle of a product.

The carbon footprint is usually expressed in tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e). The calculation includes not only the total amount of greenhouse gases released but also their respective Global Warming Potential (GWP), which compares each gas's warming effect to that of carbon dioxide (CO₂). This unified scale helps quantify how much someone or something contributes to climate change and supports the design of emission reduction strategies.

As mentioned, carbon footprints can appear in several forms:

• Individual Footprint: The amount of emissions generated by a person annually, influenced by lifestyle, transportation and energy habits, food consumption, shopping behaviour, and waste management.
• Corporate Footprint: The total greenhouse gases a company emits, including emissions from production, supply chains, logistics, and even employees' commutes. Many companies today are required to report on these emissions and develop reduction strategies accordingly.
• Product-Related Footprint: The total emissions generated over a product’s entire lifecycle — from raw material extraction, manufacturing, and shipping, to use and final disposal. For instance, the carbon footprint of a pair of jeans includes cotton farming, production, shipping, washing, and eventual waste processing.
• National or Global Footprint: Emissions calculated on a country or global scale. At the national level, this is influenced by the structure of the economy, energy sources, transport infrastructure, and industry. At the global level, it reflects the collective impact of all human activity on the atmosphere.

How to Calculate the Carbon Footprint of an Energy Community?

To assess the carbon footprint of an energy community (EC), we must look at the total shared energy usage and its sources, along with the direct and indirect emissions involved. This also includes renewable energy generation and energy efficiency measures. The calculation can be adjusted depending on the focus and depth required, making it flexible and customizable to specific needs.

Let’s walk through the basic steps of this calculation:

Step 1: Data Collection

To estimate the carbon footprint of an EC, we typically need the following data:

• Individual Energy Use: Electricity consumption by community members and the share that comes from fossil fuels versus renewable sources.
• Own Renewable Energy Production: The amount of electricity generated by members from renewable sources.
• Energy Needs of Shared Facilities: Total energy demand of community-owned buildings and infrastructure, including energy used for operation, maintenance, and additional systems.
• Mobility Habits: Number and usage of vehicles within the community, including annual mileage and vehicle types - e.g., combustion engine vs. electric cars. It’s also important to consider whether there’s a shared car system in place and how widely it’s used.

Step 2: Assigning Emission Factors

Once the raw data is gathered, we apply average emission factors, values that indicate how much CO₂ is emitted per unit of activity:

• Electricity from Non-Renewable Sources (0.35-0.7 kg CO₂/kWh): The exact figure depends on the regional energy mix, i.e., the ratio of fossil fuels to renewables in the electricity grid.
• Natural Gas (~2.0 kg CO₂/m³): Burning natural gas converts methane into CO₂, a major emission source for both households and industry.
• Car Travel (~150-200 g CO₂/km): This depends heavily on vehicle type:
  • Petrol: ~180-200 g/km
  • Diesel: ~150-170 g/km
  • Electric: 0-100 g/km, depending on the electricity source used for charging
• Electricity from Renewable Sources (0-0.05 kg CO₂/kWh): Solar panels emit virtually no CO₂ during use, but their production, transportation, maintenance, and end-of-life disposal do involve amounts of embedded emissions, which must be accounted for.

Step 3: Summarizing and Calculating the Balance

The final step is to aggregate the data to create a comprehensive picture of the community’s total emissions. The goal is to see:

• How much CO₂ the community emits in total
• How much is saved through renewable energy and sustainable practices
• What further steps can be taken to reduce emissions

The formula looks like this:

Net Carbon Footprint =

[Gross Emissions] - [Renewables Offset] - [Other Variables]

Where:

Gross Emissions: The total calculated emissions from all community members and facilities.

Renewables Offset: The CO₂ savings from the community’s renewable energy production, subtracted from the gross figure.

Other Variables: Additional savings from energy-efficient investments and environmentally friendly practices, such as:

• Switching to electric vehicles
• Home insulation or energy-saving lighting (e.g., LEDs)
• Selective waste collection and composting

These values are also subtracted from the gross emissions to arrive at the community’s net carbon footprint.

The Role of Energy Communities in Reducing Carbon Footprints

ECs have both direct and indirect impacts on carbon footprint reduction. Their contributions include:

Local Renewable Energy Production: ECs typically rely on solar, wind, or other renewables, energy sources that emit virtually no CO₂. This shift away from fossil fuels significantly lowers the community’s footprint.

Promoting Energy Efficiency: Communities often encourage members to reduce consumption through smart meters, feedback systems, usage tracking, and collective or individual efficiency practices.

Energy Independence and Security: Many communities aim to fully disconnect from fossil energy and even external suppliers, creating more sustainable, self-sufficient systems.

Greener Transport Solutions: Some ECs operate electric vehicle fleets, offer e-chargers, or organize shared transport options — all of which reduce transportation-related emissions.

Community Education and Awareness: Through workshops, events, and forums — locally or internationally — members can share experiences and develop practical, experience-based solutions for carbon reduction.

There is no doubt: the carbon footprint has become one of the most important metrics in environmental protection and sustainability. While every individual action counts, the most impactful changes at the user level can be achieved through well-organized and efficiently run ECs. These initiatives not only deliver measurable results but can also transform mindsets — both at the individual and collective level — to drive long-term, sustainable change.