The Carbon Literacy Revolution

[Music]

we need a revolution

it’s no secret that the impacts of

climate change are increasing

exponentially our planet is heating up

extreme weather is now the norm

biodiversity

is declining our waste and plastic

problems are worse than ever before

thankfully governments multi-billion

dollar conglomerates

and highly qualified scientists are

working on breakthrough technology

to help combat climate change direct air

capture

is one of these technologies whereby a

machine

directly removes greenhouse gases right

from the air

once captured these greenhouse gases are

converted into a form

that can no longer do damage to our

planet

geoengineering is another promising

solution

cloud whitening is one form of

geoengineering

whereby tiny particles are sprayed into

the atmosphere

to block the energy of the sun from

reaching the earth

thereby reducing its ability to heat our

planet

direct air capture and geoengineering

will likely be cutting edge solutions

giving us a real shot

at slowing down or even reversing the

effects

of climate change but if you’re like me

you might feel intimidated and

overwhelmed

and even slightly fearful that the

future rests

on new technology that may or may not

come to fruition in time

for regular people that are creating the

greenhouse gas problem

people like you and me consumers of

single-use plastics and fast fashion

jet setting around the world so we can

live our best life

do we just continue as is and hope these

technologies will mature in time

even though we don’t have an official

seat at the table

can we make a positive impact today

absolutely i started clever carbon for a

simple reason

to help leverage our voices as consumers

and raise carbon footprint literacy so

we can build a world

where everyone can make clever carbon

decisions

our strategy is simple elegant

and revolution worthy let’s talk about

the first part of the clever carbon

strategy

leveraging our voices as consumers well

individually

we may not have limited influence

collectively

together we hold tremendous power

because we are consumers

our needs and desires fuel the wealth

and growth that governments and

conglomerates seek

consumer goods brands airlines

restaurants services companies will go

any length to keep consumers that’s you

and me

happy they want to know what we like and

what we don’t like

in hopes that we will consume their

product and consume more of it

and consumers are already using their

voice and creating

change we’ve been telling brands and

manufacturers

that we care about our health and the

environment and as a result

we see certifications and labels on

products like

rainforest alliance certified certified

organic

or biodegradable packaging these are

huge wins for us

manufacturers are listening and the work

consumers have started has laid a strong

foundation for the clever carbon

strategy

now let’s talk about the second part of

the strategy

raising carbon footprint literacy

so what is carbon footprint anyways some

of you may have heard of the term before

it’s pretty much a buzzword these days

but let’s take a step back

carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that

is emitted

when we burn fossil fuels like coal

or natural gas carbon footprint is a

measure of the amount of carbon dioxide

released

when fossil fuels are burned and has

long been used as a measure

of environmental impact the lower the

carbon footprint

the better what most people don’t

realize

is that normal people like you and me

all have a carbon footprint too

not just governments and manufacturers

the banana we had for breakfast the

workout we did on the peloton

the hot shower we took after fossil

fuels were likely burned at some point

during these activities

for the banana it’s the fuel that was

used to transport it from the field to

the warehouse

and the warehouse to the grocery store

for the peloton ride and hot shower it’s

the electricity that was consumed

these activities all have a carbon

footprint and therefore you

have a carbon footprint it’s not

necessarily good

nor bad it’s just a fact

for consumers all we need to know is

that carbon footprint is a number

and when we have numbers we can make

comparisons

think of calories grams of sugar or fat

those are all numbers that will allow us

to make comparisons

when we’re making a purchasing product

or decision

let’s talk more about carbon footprint

and numbers

in the u.s the average annual carbon

footprint per person

is approximately 17.5 tons

one ton is simply 1 000 kilograms

if you live in vietnam or the united

kingdom the average annual footprint

is 2.1 and 8.3 times respectively

as you can see our individual footprint

can vary greatly depending on where we

live

and this is due to a few reasons

in the country that you live in on

average how do people typically compute

do they walk use public transportation

or drive

the diet they consume is it mostly meat

or plant-based

the hours people fly the single most

important

driver of carbon footprint for those who

have access

the type of energy you used in to power

your homes

renewable or fossil fuel derived and the

amount of shopping they do whether it’s

buying new clothes or electronics as an

example

you may be wondering now what is my

personal carbon footprint

a simple internet search will identify

many carbon footprint calculators you

can try out

and i highly encourage you to do so

so how does carbon footprint tie into

the clever carbon strategy

and how will it create a revolution it

comes down to carbon labeling

as a consumer we leverage many inputs to

make a purchasing decision

there’s price brand customer experience

and quality to name a few but

i want to be able to make clever carbon

decisions

that means decisions that minimize the

impact i have on the planet

or products with a lower carbon

footprint

additionally i want to set carbon

footprint goals for myself

but first i need to know what my carbon

footprint is

at the time of this talk my annual

carbine footprint was approximately

11.8 tons of carbon dioxide

if i divide that by 365 days

that’s 32.3 kilograms daily

just like i can quantify the amount of

calories i consume per day

i want to quantify my carbon footprint

per day and set

goals for myself this may sound

far-fetched

but we’re closer to this reality than

you might think

thanks to companies like oatley and all

birds

oatley is a hip oatmeal manufacturer

based out of sweden

and all birds is a apparel company based

in san francisco

both companies have started publishing

their carbon footprint per product

directly on their website

or product packaging in other words they

started carbon labeling

a carton of oat milk from oatley is 0.48

kilograms of carbon dioxide in the

united kingdom

and a pair of all birds running shoes is

9.0 kilograms

now the question is what is the

footprint of oat milk

by a different manufacturer or the

footprint of dairy

soy or almond milk what is the footprint

of a pair of nike

asics or adidas running shoes wouldn’t

it be great if you could pick up

products

and compare their footprint just like we

compare nutritional content

what’s key to carbon labeling is that

brands are publishing

an actual number that is measured just

like calories

there’s not a certification a high low

or medium equivalent

or some sort of scale but what the raw

numbers are

so that consumers like you and me can

make an apples to apples comparison

between

products just like we can today with

nutritional information

it doesn’t need to be perfect we just

need to start the movement

perhaps most importantly carbon labeling

will create

a level of transparency and

accountability for manufacturers in a

way that was never possible before

and as a result in addition to competing

on price

quality or brand companies will also be

incentivized

to compete on impact more specifically

creating products and services with a

lower carbon footprint

if all burns can make a shoe with a

carbon footprint of 9.0 kilograms

we can be sure that when other brands

start publishing their carbon footprint

for shoe

all eyes will be on how close or far

from 9.0 kilograms

their products are carbon labeling could

be the largest revolution

that the fight against climate change

has yet to see

with companies like oatley and albers

have already using

starting the movement we can be sure

that more and more companies

will be following suit so

how do we accelerate the carbon labeling

movement

first of all become carbon literate

take a carbon footprint quiz there’s

many on the internet

and follow accounts on social media that

focus on carbon footprint

and sustainability related content next

use your voice when you’re on instagram

and a brand launches a new product