> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.salvidia.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What is a carbon footprint?

> A clear, practical explanation of what a carbon footprint is, what CO₂e means, and how it applies to organisations, events, and products.

A **carbon footprint** is the total amount of **greenhouse gas emissions** caused by an organisation, event, product, or person over a defined period or life cycle.

We usually express it in:

* **tCO₂e** – tonnes of CO₂-equivalent
* **kg CO₂e** – kilograms of CO₂-equivalent

CO₂e means we **convert different greenhouse gases** (like methane and nitrous oxide) into the equivalent impact of carbon dioxide, using standard **global warming potentials (GWPs)**. That way, we can talk about **one number** instead of a different unit for each gas.

***

## The simple version

A carbon footprint is just:

> All relevant activities\
> ➜ converted into CO₂e\
> ➜ within a defined boundary

The three key questions are:

1. **What are we measuring?** (organisation, event, product…)
2. **Over what scope / period?** (which emissions, which dates, which stages?)
3. **How do we convert activity into CO₂e?** (activity data + emission factors)

Salvidia helps by giving you **structure** for all three.

***

## Carbon footprint vs “emissions”

People often use these terms interchangeably, but there’s a subtle distinction:

* **Emissions** – the actual release of greenhouse gases (e.g. fuel burned, electricity used, waste decomposing).
* **Carbon footprint** – the **total quantified impact** of those emissions for a defined subject and boundary.

You can think of the carbon footprint as the **measured, documented result** of all relevant emissions.

***

## What goes into a carbon footprint?

Most footprints include some combination of:

* **Energy use**
  * Electricity, gas, fuels, onsite generation
* **Travel and transport**
  * Flights, vehicles, commuting, freight and logistics
* **Purchases and services**
  * Goods, services, materials used to run the business or deliver an event/product
* **Waste and materials**
  * Waste disposal, recycling, construction/demolition, packaging
* **Other sources**
  * Refrigerants, process emissions, land use change, etc.

The exact mix depends on **what** you’re measuring and **how wide** you draw the boundary.

***

## Three common types of carbon footprints

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Organisation">
    An organisation footprint covers the emissions from running an organisation over a period (usually a year).

    Examples:

    * All energy used in offices, warehouses, and sites
    * Travel and commuting by employees
    * Key purchased goods and services
    * Waste generated by operations

    This is what most people mean when they say **“our annual carbon footprint”**.

    👉 In Salvidia, this is an **Organisation assessment**.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Event">
    An event footprint covers the emissions caused by a specific event.

    Examples:

    * Venue and temporary power
    * Attendee, exhibitor, and staff travel
    * Catering (food, drinks, packaging)
    * Waste and recycling during and after the event

    Event footprints are useful for:

    * Comparing years
    * Reporting to sponsors and stakeholders
    * Designing lower-impact events

    👉 In Salvidia, this is an **Event assessment**.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Product">
    A product footprint covers the emissions associated with a product or service across its life cycle.

    Examples:

    * Raw materials and components
    * Manufacturing energy and processes
    * Packaging and distribution
    * Use phase (how customers use it)
    * End-of-life (recycling, landfill, etc.)

    Product footprints are often based on **life cycle assessment (LCA)** concepts.

    👉 In Salvidia, this is a **Product assessment**.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## CO₂e and global warming potentials (GWPs)

Not all greenhouse gases are equal. Some trap more heat than CO₂.

To compare them, we use **global warming potentials (GWPs)**:

* CO₂ has a GWP of **1** (baseline)
* Methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and others have **higher GWPs**
* We multiply each gas by its GWP to get **CO₂e**

Example:

* 1 tonne of methane with GWP of 28\
  ➜ 1 × 28 = **28 tCO₂e**

You rarely need to calculate this yourself. Salvidia and standard emission factors handle GWPs under the hood — but it’s useful to know **why** we use CO₂e.

***

## Boundaries: what is (and isn’t) included

A key part of any carbon footprint is the **boundary**:

* **Organisational boundary**
  * Which entities, sites, or operations are included?
* **Operational boundary**
  * Which scopes, activities, and emissions are included?

For example, an organisation might decide to:

* Include: all owned/controlled sites in Australia, Scope 1 and 2, plus key Scope 3 categories
* Exclude (for now): minor overseas subsidiaries or very small emission sources

The goal is to:

* Be **transparent**
* Include **all material sources**
* Be **consistent year-on-year**

For more detail, see **[Organisational boundaries](/guides/organisational-boundaries)**.

***

## How a carbon footprint is calculated

In practice, a carbon footprint is built from lots of individual lines like this:

* 10,000 kWh of electricity × factor → emissions
* 25,000 km of car travel × factor → emissions
* 5,000 AUD of marketing spend × factor → emissions
* 3 tonnes of landfill waste × factor → emissions

Then:

1. Each line item gets its own **CO₂e value**
2. Items are grouped into **categories and scopes**
3. Everything rolls up into **totals and breakdowns**

Salvidia automates the factor selection and calculations so you can focus on **getting good data in** and **using the results**.

***

## What a carbon footprint is *not*

To avoid confusion:

* It is **not** just your electricity use
* It is **not** just your Scope 1 and 2 emissions
* It is **not** only about purchasing offsets

A solid carbon footprint is:

* Broader than just energy
* Grounded in a **clear methodology**
* The basis for **reduction and strategy**, not just compensation

***

## How your carbon footprint is used

Once you have a footprint, you can:

<Columns>
  <Column>
    <Card title="Understand your hotspots">
      See which sites, activities, or categories drive most of your emissions, so you know where to focus.
    </Card>
  </Column>

  <Column>
    <Card title="Track progress">
      Compare years, events, or product variants to see whether your actions are working.
    </Card>
  </Column>

  <Column>
    <Card title="Communicate and comply">
      Feed real numbers into reports, tenders, frameworks, and conversations with customers and stakeholders.
    </Card>
  </Column>
</Columns>

***

## How this connects to Salvidia

When you create an assessment in Salvidia, you’re essentially setting up the **framework for a carbon footprint**:

* Choosing **what** you are measuring (organisation, event, product)
* Defining a **period or scope**
* Entering **activity data** into structured tables
* Letting the platform handle **factors and calculations**

The outputs — dashboards, breakdowns, and exports — are your **carbon footprint** for that assessment.

***

## Where to go next

* Get a quick refresher in **[Carbon accounting in 10 minutes](/guides/carbon-accounting-in-10-minutes)**
* Learn about **[Scopes 1, 2, and 3](/guides/scopes-1-2-and-3-explained)**
* Or see **[Activity-based vs spend-based data](/guides/activity-based-vs-spend-based)** to understand different ways to measure your footprint.