Chaoran's Sustainability Blog

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Carbon footprint, the buzzword in the advertising and sustainability, is taking the spotlight. I was curious to gain a deeper understanding of my current lifestyle, and seek for potential changes. Following the directions outline on the Carbon Footprint Calculator, I have received some quite interesting results. More steps and measures could definitely be taken in to consideration in order to make a difference; nevertheless, there are some physical limitations and boundaries that prevent people to always make the most green or most healthy choices.

As indicated below, my personal carbon footprint is half of the Canadian average. Nevertheless, I still feel quite privileged and spoiled. The world target is less than my secondary carbon footprint alone, which leads me to reflect upon my purchasing habits and choices. Reducing weekly meat consumption, and replacing that with vegetables; buying organic, locally–grown food instead of imported ones; and avoiding frequent flights during vacations are small changes that could be ameliorated and improved upon. I think internal barriers include: financial stresses, limited choices; and most importantly, the absence of conscientiousness. Organic foods are priced to be more expensive, and in less varieties. Therefore, it may not always be realistic to adopt a 100% organic diet. An external factor considered here would be peer influence, where in order to “fit in” the friend circle; one may be more prone to engage in actions, such as wasting water and regularly travelling between countries, which negatively affect one’s carbon footprint. As well, instead of making decisions on what should be done, we are often drifted into the thoughts of fulfilling personal desires and wants, prior to consider sustainability and effects on the outer environment.  Carbon footprint reduction could be traced to the smallest details, such as waking up earlier to walk to school instead of taking buses. Also, it is beneficial to do carbon footprint exercise through CF calculators to practice “thinking green”, and reflect on alternatives before making a purchase. This would gradually change one’s mindset and shape the behavior.

One thing that came to my surprise, was the high contribution of clothes purchases and decisions that were made, in regards to carbon footprint. Because I consider myself as more fashion-conscious and seeking for a chic and sleek lifestyle, I may end up purchasing clothes that were manufactured in other countries, and then transported to Canada through air, land or vessel. This has indirectly contributed to my footprint, as a sustainability life cycle generally runs from cradle to cradle. This provides implications for the business and for end users, as people generally disregard where the product is properly sourced, or the amount of energy and resource that went into the transportation. I think this is something that needs to be taken into considerations of supply chain, where the source and transportations also comes into the play, further complicating the issue.