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Our Ecologi subscription plans are based on calculations of individual carbon footprints &#8211; but how do we arrive at these numbers?
In this post, we’re going to deep dive into what footprints are, how they are calculated, and the methodology we use to calculate the carbon footprints that power our individual, family and Climate Positive Workforce® subscription plans.

<h2>Unpicking a carbon footprint</h2>
A ‘carbon footprint’ is an estimate of the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with something &#8211; an activity, individual, or organisation. The concept of individual carbon footprints has a rocky history &#8211; having been promoted by BP <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060212090704/http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9005334&amp;contentId=7009881">in an advertising campaign in 2005</a>. In terms of collective action though, footprints are useful in terms of calculating the average footprint of an individual within a population.
Whilst your individual footprint may be higher or lower than the average, depending on your personal lifestyle, there is an implicit base carbon footprint attributable to you, as a resident in your home country.
This is the average per capita carbon footprint for a person who lives where you do, and can be worked out by dividing the total greenhouse gas emissions from your country by its population. This footprint is measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).

<h2>How to build a carbon footprint</h2>
Depending on which sources you look at, you might have noticed that the quoted figure for an average UK carbon footprint varies quite a lot. This is likely because the different sources are measuring footprints differently. At Ecologi, we include in our carbon footprints:
<ul>
<li>All greenhouse gases (GHGs). This means that as well as carbon dioxide (CO2), we include in the calculation the other gases which warm our planet, such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). In calculating a footprint, this is where “CO2e” comes from &#8211; the other greenhouse gases are illustrated as proxies of carbon dioxide based on their equivalent global warming potential (GWP).</li>
<li aria-level="1">Land use change. This refers to the net change in emissions caused by different usages of land. For example, a country or territory which has cleared lots of primary forest for agriculture would see a net increase in its overall emissions figure, since agricultural land is a less effective carbon sink than a healthy forest ecosystem.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Emissions transfers. This includes emissions for goods and services which are consumed in the territory, but are not produced there. For example, if you buy clothes or food in the UK which have been imported from another country, the emissions associated with the goods and services need to be included in the footprint as ‘consumption based’ emissions as well, since the emissions are generated as a result of buyers’ demand from the country.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Ecologi’s carbon footprint calculator</h2>
Taking all these factors into account, our footprint calculator for our individual, family and Climate Positive Workforce® subscription plans merges the country carbon footprint with UN population data to generate average individual footprints for many countries and regions around the world.
To generate our calculator, we had to synthesise a few different datasets:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">We retrieved emissions data from:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">UNFCCC (<a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/transparency-and-reporting/greenhouse-gas-data/ghg-data-unfccc/ghg-data-from-unfccc">download</a>);</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">CAIT (<a href="https://www.climatewatchdata.org/data-explorer/historical-emissions?historical-emissions-data-sources=cait&amp;historical-emissions-gases=all-ghg&amp;historical-emissions-regions=All%20Selected&amp;historical-emissions-sectors=total-including-lucf&amp;page=1">download</a>);</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">GCP (<a href="https://www.icos-cp.eu/science-and-impact/global-carbon-budget/2019">download</a>).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Emissions transfers data came from the GCP (<a href="https://www.icos-cp.eu/science-and-impact/global-carbon-budget/2019">download</a>).</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Population data came from the United Nations (<a href="https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/">download</a>).</li>
</ul>
We took UNFCCC data as the primary data source; where emissions data for a country was missing within the UNFCCC dataset, we opted to revert to data provided by CAIT. The dataset from CAIT is more comprehensive than that from the UNFCCC, since it records measured emissions by particular authoritative institutions – many of them US governmental departments, like the EPA. This data could be subject to its own institutional or political biases – but our research and our calculations led us to consider it broadly accurate, and for non-Annex I countries it provides a much fuller dataset than that of the UNFCCC.
So, the emissions data we used for calculating Ecologi’s individual footprints was to use the most recent UN figure for national emissions (up to 2016) – unless it was missing, or greater than 6 years old. In either of these cases, we would revert to the most recent CAIT data for that country instead.
Sometimes, usually for small island countries, there was neither UN data nor CAIT data – and for these countries unfortunately we do not have an exact footprint figure.
<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ppLdgvSiK56NjK3vvY-Twqqgcw6XYo22trwAdYcDQOw/edit?usp=sharing">View the full calculator here</a>

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<h2>Why doesn’t Ecologi calculate your footprint based on answering questions about your lifestyle?</h2>
App footprint calculators which ask questions about your lifestyle to determine your emissions use what’s called a ‘bottom-up’ approach &#8211; where you insert data about your day-to-day life and build a footprint from the ground up.
This approach can be considered fairly ‘accurate’ based on what you answer, but also tends to be ‘leaky’ as your footprint no doubt contains other areas that you weren’t able to disclose &#8211; which may be significant sources of emissions.
When you look at an entire country’s emissions by the sum of all of its industries, the calculation doesn’t ‘leak’ because all known emissions are all present.
Whilst your individual footprint may be higher or lower than the average for somebody who lives in your country, the law of averages provides us with a comprehensive initial figure for what your footprint would be, if all of the people in your country emitted the same.
You no doubt can think of two people within the same country who will have very different footprints. At Ecologi, this is really important to us, because we believe that those who have bigger footprints should pay for them.
That’s why, with all of our subscriptions we offer the opportunity to modify your base footprint upwards, if you consider your own lifestyle to be particularly carbon heavy (for example, if you would normally fly frequently).
<h2>Reality check</h2>
Whilst offsetting your carbon footprint with your Ecologi subscription is important, offsetting will not solve climate change on its own. If you live in a relatively wealthy country, the chances are that your carbon footprint is significantly higher than it needs to be, to help keep global warming below 1.5ºC or 2ºC.
You can use the Goals section of your Ecologi profile to set yourself lower carbon lifestyle goals, such as eating a plant-based diet or flying less (or not at all!). 
For more tips, read our article <a href="https://ecologi.com/articles/blog/environmental-activism-your-first-steps">here</a>.

Updates

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It’s one thing to see your virtual forest growing online with Ecologi, and it’s another thing entirely to be able to view the reforestation projects you support with your own eyes through satellite imagery. In an effort to enhance transparency in just about everything we do, we’re excited to share that you can now find all of our Ecologi supported restoration projects on Restor. To find out more about this incredible platform, read on.

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<a href="https://restor.eco/">Restor</a> is a non-profit organisation that was founded by ETH Zurich&#8217;s Crowther Lab. The first version of the platform was developed in collaboration with Google in 2020 with the primary aim of supporting restoration practitioners around the world. 
The platform has aptly been described as “Google Maps for restoration” as it is built using Google Earth Engine and allows anyone, anywhere in the world to monitor global restoration efforts. The platform is a science-based open-data network that provides satellite imagery of restoration projects over time, allowing users to monitor landscape change and ultimately to better connect people and projects to their underpinning scientific data.
Global uptake for the open-source Restor platform has been an indication of the utility and ongoing potential of the platform, and it is no surprise that Restor was a Royal Foundation&#8217;s 2021 Earthshot Prize finalist, as well as an official partner of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
To find out more about how Restor works, take a look at the video below.
<iframe title="Restor Product" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/713030229?h=76e34d51d9&amp;dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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Photo credit: <a href="https://www.koalaclancyfoundation.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.koalaclancyfoundation.org.au/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1665056894914000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3kivtSy9TYOA8i_N1C6z-N">Koala Clancy Foundation</a>

By providing open access to satellite imagery for all our restoration project sites, Restor adds an additional layer of transparency to show the success of our projects over time. The platform provides us with the opportunity to bring our community closer to the work they are funding on the ground by sharing tangible before and after satellite images. In addition, the platform helps us store our restoration project information all in one place, which provides a wealth of information for our community to refer back to, and to any individual in the world who is interested in what we do. The overarching theme across all these benefits is the fact that Restor enhances our transparency as an organisation, which is one of our core values at Ecologi.

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Since Restor’s public launch in October 2021, their community has grown to over 125,000 restoration and conservation sites across 140 countries. Excitingly, over the next few months, the Restor platform will be rolling out a new look, along with updated features based on lessons learnt and user requests. Some of these new features include redesigned site profiles, affiliated organisations for various sites, and updated data layers in time. For a more in depth overview of what you can expect to see on Restor, check out the video below.
<iframe title="Restor platform preview September 2022" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ys0GFexwA08?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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Here’s the easy part. We’ve gone ahead and added direct links to each reforestation project page, so if you’re interested in checking out a particular project on the Restor platform, just head to our <a href="https://ecologi.com/projects">projects page</a>, select the particular reforestation project you’re interested in finding more about, and follow the link in the description. We hope you enjoy the platform and its capabilities as much as we do!
<a href="https://ecologi.com/plan">Sign up</a> to Ecologi today to start taking real climate action 🌿

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We are supporting a new project site in Dundori, Kenya, with Internati

We’ve got some fantastic news! We’ve recently teamed up with <a href="https://www.internationaltreefoundation.org/">International Tree Foundation</a> (ITF) to support a new project in Dundori, Kenya. Since July 2022, some of the trees funded for planting by our community have been planted by ITF in Dundori.
We’re very proud to have begun this exciting new collaboration with the team at ITF to support their impactful projects. Read on to find out more about this incredible organisation and the project we’re supporting.

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International Tree Foundation (ITF) is an environmental organisation, founded in Kenya in 1922, that is dedicated to planting and growing trees, restoring and conserving forests, and strengthening community and ecosystem resilience. 
What makes ITF unique is their commitment to forest stewardship. Key to ITF’s operation is their commitment to capacity-building within local communities to optimise forest planting and conservation efforts, and to improve livelihoods within the local community. Gender empowerment and education are also core elements of their community engagement.
ITF works in partnership with the <a href="http://www.kenyaforestservice.org/">Kenya Forest Service</a>, <a href="http://kefri">Kenya Forest &amp; Research Institute </a>and with Community Forest Associations to ensure that all planting is appropriate for local ecology, as well as working with their long-standing partner <a href="https://www.bgci.org/">Botanic Gardens Conservation International</a>.

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The aim of the Dundori project is to restore 200 hectares of highly degraded forests through sustainable, community-led reforestation. Additionally, the project will involve planting of trees in schools, engaging young environmental stewards in forest and school-based tree growing in 15 learning institutions. 
The project will also integrate and mainstream the conservation of four threatened tree species (Ocotea kenyensis, Polyscias kikuyuensis, Prunus africana and Vangueria gillettii (<a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org">IUCN Red list of 2020</a>)) in Nakuru County. 
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<iframe title="Celebrating 100 years of tree planting" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qwSCwx5I55I?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
To read more on what International Tree Foundation is all about, see <a href="https://www.internationaltreefoundation.org/">here</a>.
<a href="https://ecologi.com/plan">Sign up</a> to Ecologi today to start taking real climate action 🌿

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Fantastic news &#8211; we’ve recently teamed up with the <a href="https://highatlasfoundation.org/">High Atlas Foundation</a> (HAF) to support a new project in Ouezzane, Morocco! Since July 2022, this project has already made some great progress, with a new nursery being constructed with an irrigation system powered by solar power to keep all the saplings healthy.
We’re really proud to have begun this exciting new collaboration with the team at HAF to support their impactful projects. Read on to find out more about HAF and the first project we’re supporting with this incredible organisation.

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The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) is a Moroccan association and a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation founded in 2000 by former Peace Corps Volunteers committed to furthering sustainable development. HAF supports Moroccan communities to take action in implementing human development initiatives. HAF promotes organic agriculture, women’s empowerment, youth development, education, and health. 
It’s imperative to us that we partner with organisations that promote inclusion and gender equality, which are at the core of HAF’s business model. Their participatory approach to projects begins with dialogue including all community members from a range of age, gender, education, income, land ownership, religious, and ethnic groups representative of the project location.

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Starting in November 2023, 400,000 tree saplings raised in the project’s nursery will be distributed throughout the Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceima (TTA) region. This region was specifically chosen to improve farming practices near the spring of the Oued Loukkos river, which feeds downstream protected wetlands that are currently suffering from eutrophication. 
Importantly, 120,000 of the trees will be planted on 600 hectares of public domain granted by Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to the 19 villages of Zefrioune. The trees will be provided to farming families (7,000 people) and education centres in TTA, who will be the sole beneficiaries of the yields of these trees. 
This project’s nursery area will be the heart of the project and dedicated to providing improvements in biodiversity and economic stability for farmers of the TTA region. By planting keystone species, such as threatened endemic fig species, which enrich the soil with nutrients, retain water, and attract unique local pollinators, this project will provide local farmers with the stability and independence needed to withstand future crises. 
The nursery will serve as a scientific teaching garden containing all ten regionally endemic fig varieties, which will enable local farmers to be trained in production and value-adding processing techniques, and initiate the development of a fig growers’ cooperative to further explore opportunities in cultivation and marketing. 
The below video provides an example of HAF’s approach to its agroforestry projects.
<iframe title="Visiting the Women-led Tassa Ouirgane Fruit Tree Nursery" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uSsqq6jQ0pU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
To read more on what High Atlas Foundation is all about, see <a href="https://highatlasfoundation.org/">here</a>.
<a href="https://ecologi.com/plan">Sign up</a> to Ecologi today to start taking real climate action 🌿

Calculating individual carbon footprints at Ecologi

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You can now find all our reforestation projects on Restor

We are supporting a new project site in Dundori, Kenya, with International Tree Foundation

Supporting our first tree planting project in Morocco with the High Atlas Foundation

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