Our footprint
How we live and the choices we make have an impact.
What impact do I have?
The carbon footprint of the average household in Basingstoke and Deane is about 13,320 kilograms each year. That’s roughly the same weight as three adult male African elephants. Let’s break this down.
Everything we choose to buy and use
is about
31%
of an average year’s carbon footprint, at 4,150 kilograms (more than one adult elephant)
Everything that we eat and drink
is about
20%
of an average year’s carbon footprint, at 2,650 kilograms (a teenage elephant, maybe…)
Heating and powering our homes
is about
24%
of an average year’s carbon footprint, at 3,230 kilograms (another teenage elephant…)
Travel by car, train, bus or plane
is about
24%
of an average year’s carbon footprint, at 3,200 kilograms (yes, another teen elephant…)
Everything we waste and throw away
is roughly
<1%
of an average year’s carbon footprint, at 80 kilograms (an adult elephant’s foot, maybe…)
These figures are from Impact, the community carbon calculator
Balance is key
Doing your bit for the environment isn’t about selling all your worldly possessions and moving to a tent on the beach. Which would be a bit of a hassle anyway, given the borough doesn’t actually have one.
Our planet can absorb some carbon. Just nowhere near how much we produce now. We don’t have to get rid of all emissions. But we do need to act quickly and get them down as much as possible.
Ready to take action?