What is a Carbon Footprint?
Like every other day last week, I walked into the office and started to review my task and meetings for the day to make sure I was up to speed on everything. When I looked at my two o’clock appointment, I paused for a few seconds and yelled out to Sandy my assistant, “Who and what the heck is Carbon reduction at 2:00?¯”
“Your meeting is with Paul from the Environmental Services Department, I am not sure what the Carbon Reduction relates too, he said you were aware of the meeting,¯”Sandy replied.
“Oh, that’s right. Sorry, I forgot”¯, I said, not wanting Sandy to know I was clueless–even though after three years working together she knows I tend to forget a lot of the details.
Our firm has been in the manufacturing business for ten years and when we started our Carbon Footprint¯ was nowhere to be found in the business plan. Of course that was ten years ago and the attitudes about the environment have changed dramatically. I like to think I do my part to protect the environment and also think I know what are not good things to do, but Carbon Footprint reduction?
Like all good executives who do not like to seen as not knowing everything¯ related to their business, I hit the internet to get some quick details.
A Carbon Footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases we produce. It is measured in units of carbon dioxide.¯
That is what the internet dictionary told me along with more technical details than I had time to digest. Focusing in on my meeting, I of course wanted to know if there are ways to reduce the carbon dioxide and how our firm was potentially going to be involved. That is when I found a carbon footprint calculator on line. Of course, I really wasn’t interested in all the other products they were selling, but the calculator I thought would be the best way to get an idea of what type of impact I and our firm contributes to the issue.
I won’t say how we came out on the calculator test, but I will say we are doing OK and can and will do better.
I got an email about the site and liked what I saw, so I am participating because I think it a great way for communities to spread good news about a greener way of living. I am also writing do to the impact that little calculator had on me. It made me really start to think about the many ways we as people impact the environment that we may not know and that we can do our part even through learning something new ways to improve things. I hope some other people check out the carbon calculator and if it affects one person like it has me, then I feel I have started to do my part toward greening Fort Lauderdale a little.
- Evan
Fort Lauderdale resident for 19 years.
Carbon Footprint’s mission is to educate and inform how we can all make the right choices both at home and at work, save on waste and make sure that future generations will inherit a world we can be proud of. Carbon footprint is a family company, set up because we felt that there was no easy source of practical advice for busy people and companies wanting to ‘do their bit’ to preserve the environment.
Click here for the Carbon Footprint Calculator
