ReFLEX Orkney project launches carbon calculator

The ReFLEX Orkney project has launched a new carbon calculator to help the Orkney community estimate its carbon footprint and monitor it over time.

The carbon calculator (which you can access here) has been designed specifically for individuals and households in Orkney, using Orkney specific calculations where possible. It is available for anyone to use but may not be as reflective of carbon footprints for those that live elsewhere.

The calculator covers household energy, diet, consumables and travel and should take 5 to 10 minutes to complete.

Once all questions have been answered, ReFLEX will calculate your personal or household carbon footprint, providing a breakdown of different sectors to indicate the biggest contributors, and a comparison to UK and global averages.

Gareth Davies, Managing Director of Aquatera said: “Understanding our carbon footprint and the impact of our actions and consumption on climate change can help motivate people, business and governments to take action and reduce our carbon emissions.

“We hope Orcadians will find it easy and interesting to use the carbon calculator. We’ve designed it to be as simple as possible for people to fill out, so you can repeat the survey over time to see how your carbon footprint changes. We will encourage our members to do this regularly so we can see the change that the ReFLEX Orkney project makes. The calculator is designed so that people can complete it quickly, using estimated values in some parts of it, or you can get a more accurate estimate by answering more detailed questions.

“Earth Day is the perfect moment to release this new tool to help Orcadians understand and reduce our carbon footprint as individuals and as a community.”

If you’d like more advice on how to reduce your carbon footprint, check out ReFLEX's top tips on their recommendations page.

The carbon calculator was built for ReFLEX Orkney by NB Communications.

More information on the ReFLEX project is available on the project website.