The carbon footprint: one footprint among many!

We are sometimes asked why our calculator does not include questions about whether someone takes baths or showers, grows their own vegetables, or buys a lot, little, or no processed food at all.

Unfortunately, these actions do not make a significant difference (or too little to matter) in the calculation of your carbon footprint.

But that does not mean they are unimportant, quite the opposite! They address equally important environmental issues.

Carbon: one issue among many

A multi-dimensional crisis

Have you ever heard of “planetary boundaries”? These are the limits that must not be exceeded to preserve ecosystem stability and maintain the planet’s inhabitability for humans and all life forms in the coming decades and centuries.

Defined in 2009 by an international team of researchers, these boundaries help us grasp the full scale of planetary challenges we face today. They are now used as a framework for understanding and decision-making by the United Nations and the European Commission.

There are nine boundaries:

1. 🌐 Climate change
2. 🐨 Biodiversity loss
3. 🧪 Disruptions to nitrogen and phosphorus biogeochemical cycles
4. 🚜 Land-use change
5. 🌊 Ocean acidification
6. 💧 Freshwater use
7. 🛰️ Stratospheric ozone depletion
8. 💨 Increase in atmospheric aerosols
9. ☢️ Introduction of novel entities into the biosphere

All of these issues are critical to preserving life on our planet. And they are all interconnected.

We highly recommend this article from Reporterre for a better understanding of planetary boundaries.

A systemic crisis

We do not live in a compartmentalized world. Climate, water, biodiversity, pollution, ocean acidification, all these issues are linked. Taking action on one affects the others. However, overlaps are sometimes minimal. For instance, the actions mentioned earlier primarily impact the following boundaries:

• Shower or bath

6. 💧 Freshwater use

• Home gardening, processed foods, and food-related habits

2. 🐨 Biodiversity loss
3. 🧪 Disruptions to nitrogen and phosphorus cycles
4. 🚜 Land-use change

(And that’s not even considering the health benefits! Better health means fewer environmental impacts related to medication production and healthcare infrastructure use…)

These actions are, therefore, very important! But they are absent from our climate footprint calculator.

So why focus on carbon?

If there are nine planetary boundaries, why concentrate only on climate?

A major issue

Climate is at the top of the list of the nine boundaries. It has far-reaching consequences and is closely linked to nearly all the other eight boundries. Its significance was one of the main reasons we chose to focus on the climate footprint.

A measurable issue

Another advantage of the climate footprint is that it can be quantified using the “carbon equivalent” measure, which is widely accepted within the scientific community.

An accessible issue

Finally, while complex, climate change is one of the most understandable planetary boundaries. Carbon, its cycle, and its role in ecosystems are concepts that are relatively accessible.

And what about the rest? Do we just forget about it?

Absolutely not! But with limited hands and brains available, we must prioritize.

That said, other planetary boundaries also meet some or all of the criteria (major, measurable, accessible):

6. 💧 Freshwater use
7. 🐨 Biodiversity loss: major and accessible, though its measurement remains to be defined

Many initiatives, such as educational workshops, help bring light on these challenges… and perhaps, in the future, new calculators will too!