What impact do I have?

The carbon footprint of the average household in Basingstoke and Deane is about 17,880 kilograms each year. That’s roughly the same weight as three fully grown male African elephants. Let’s break this down.

What we choose to buy and use

is about

35%

of an average year’s carbon footprint, at 6,190 kilograms (more than one adult elephant)

Everything that we eat and drink

is about

22%

of an average year’s carbon footprint, at 4,000 kilograms (a teenage elephant, maybe…)

Heating and powering our homes

is about

22%

of an average year’s carbon footprint, at 3,930 kilograms (another teenager)

Travel by car, train, bus or plane

is about

21%

of an average year’s carbon footprint, at 3,710 kilograms (yes, another teen elephant…)

Stuff we waste and throw away

is roughly

<1%

of an average year’s carbon footprint, at 50 kilograms (an elephant’s foot, maybe)

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.