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
to
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
leave a comment would be great to know
what the carbon footprint of your
product is
repeat for all other types of products
services
and food establishments yes a burrito
has a carbon footprint as well and
someday
you may walk into any fast food joint
and see the footprint of each item on
the menu
just like we see calories now ask
and you shall receive next
use your voice as a consumer to reward
good behavior
for example if a hotel has eliminated
single-use plastic toiletries
call that out in your review and
encourage them to continue making
lower impact switches be relentless on
facebook twitter linkedin amazon reviews
google reviews any public forum at any
time
and always but also be positive and kind
because that’s the best way to motivate
change
at clever carbon we believe that
revolutions can be simple
and powerful while we wait for direct
air capture
and geoengineering technologies to
mature and scale
let’s get our revolution started
you