As the world engages in the process of decarbonization, organizations are rushing to figure out how to best calculate their carbon emissions and set net-zero targets. For a business to understand its impact on the planet, though, it first needs to assess what its current carbon footprint actually is. Then, and only then, can it take the imperative steps needed to reduce it.
The process of calculating greenhouse gas emissions is not just a regulatory requirement – nowadays, it’s becoming a necessity to track progress against net-zero targets set by businesses individually, and by cities and regions collectively. Requirements do, of course, differ across organizations, countries and industries, and as a result, a selection of carbon footprint calculators with varying degrees of usefulness and credibility can be found online.
To make it easier to understand which calculator is best for your needs, here is our review of the most popular and reliable calculators, compared according to the following essential criteria:
Here’s a quick overview of each calculator that we’ve rated. You can find a more detailed analysis of each one below this table.
Regional focus: United Kingdom.
Data and methodology: It is based on the GHG Protocol, including the company's direct emissions (scope 1) and emissions from purchased electricity (scope 2). The calculator is not fully comprehensive and does not provide a full evaluation of an SME’s footprint with scope 3 insights – and only allows reporting until 2022. However, it provides full transparency on methodology and data used.
Usability: It provides a good user experience.
Regional focus: United States.
Data and methodology: It uses EPA-based emission factors. It offers simplified calculations for electricity, heat generation, vehicles, air, rail, shipping, and events, which are converted to cost for offsetting. The calculator adheres to the Quality Assurance Protocol and has published its methodology and data sources.
Usability: Average user experience.
The ecocockpit calculator is made by the Efficiency Agency in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany. You have to register to use it and it's offered only in German.
Regional focus: Germany.
Data and methodology: It uses the GHG Protocol and has a comprehensive set of categories to allow for footprint estimations across all scopes. The calculator has a transparent methodology and the agency offers courses and events to educate on the use of the calculator and GHG accounting, which is useful given its relative complexity.
Usability: It provides a good user experience.
Regional focus: Global, though best suited for the United States.
Data and methodology: It uses EPA data. It’s not very comprehensive compared to other calculators on the market, with no scope 3 coverage, and information on its data and methodology is trickier to find.
Usability: It provides an average user experience. Offsetting is available for interested users.
The Change Climate Project is a non-profit whose free Business Emissions Evaluator is intended as a first step for businesses looking to take part in their Climate Neutral certification process. You can access the BEE after creating an account.
Regional focus: Global.
Data methodology: The Business Emissions Evaluator is built on the Climatiq database, the largest database of vetted emission factors that combines data from almost 40 sources to cover all regions.
Usability: The BEE is very simple to use. With minimal input from users, it calculates scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions to return carbon footprint estimations within minutes.
Ecovisea is specific to Southeast Asia. You need to create an account to use it.
Regional focus: Southeast Asia.
Data methodology: It uses the Climatiq database. Thanks to Climatiq’s inclusion of emission factors for Southeast Asia, Ecovisea makes an important contribution to increasing carbon visibility in a region that is typically underserved when it comes to sustainability solutions.
Usability: Ecovisea provides an average user experience, with breakdown of emissions into scopes 1, 2, and 3.
Despite the misleading name, Persefoni Pro is a free tool, though you have to sign up to use it. Paid users get access to additional features.
Regional focus: Global.
Data methodology: A comprehensive tool that allows calculations across all scopes based on GHG Protocol methodology. Users can decide whether to use preset estimations or upload their own data.
Usability: Despite the tool’s complexity, the UI is user-friendly and easy to navigate. It gives experts an in-depth view into how their carbon footprint is calculated.
Numerous online carbon footprint calculators are available for individuals, households, SMEs, and large businesses. Even among business-focused calculators, there are large differences in terms of scope, transparency of methodology, and reliability of calculations. As the world races to set net-zero targets and strategies, it’s important for individuals and organizations to identify and calculate their emissions and take the necessary steps to reduce them.
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