Carbon reduction
Carbon emissions involve the release of Green House Gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere when burning fossil fuels. Green House Gases include: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapour (which all occur naturally), and fluorinated gases (which are synthetic).
These gases are recognised both on individual, business and even on a country scale and make up what is known as a the carbon footprint (CF). According to the World Health Organisation, a carbon footprint is a measure of the impact your activities have on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced through the burning of fossil fuels and is expressed as a weight of CO2 emissions produced in tonnes.
Carbon footprints include factors such as:
- driving
- electricity
- flying
- diet
- recycling
Broxbourne Council has committed to publishing its carbon emissions on an annual basis, showing progress on reducing emissions from the baseline year of 2019/20.
You can view Broxbourne Council's Carbon Emisson Report 2023 here.
Residents can lower their carbon emissions by incorporating more active travel into daily routines, eating more low carbon meals (less meat as high levels of GHGs are associated with meat production), and sourcing items made locally. For example, looking for the Forestry Stewardship Council logo when sourcing items made of wood and paper.
Manufacturers must now by law supply replacement parts for products, so consumers can repair items instead of purchasing new items. All of these actions can lower carbon emissions and individual carbon footprints.
You can work out your household’s or business’ footprint here.