Loading... please wait

This site requires a minimum of Microsoft Internet Explorer 6,
Safari 3 or Firefox 2 and Macromedia Flash Player 8.
If you are having trouble viewing this site please ensure
you have these installed.

Step 3 - Offset Emissions

Calculate your household's greenhouse gas

By answering these easy questions you can assess your greenhouse gas emissions and build a base for reducing your carbon footprint!

To best answer the below questions you will need the following documents/information at hand:

pen, paper and calculator
a recent gas bill
a recent electricity bill
the size of your car’s fuel tank (if you’re unsure this will be noted in your car’s manual. The average small-medium car’s tank is 60L)

To get started, move the CO₂ icons below left or right to indicate your household's use for each activity.

Activity	Your household's use			Yearly emissions
Natural Gas or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)	-	+		X kg
Natural Gas or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Hints Natural gas: On your most recent gas bill, you should see a table or bar graph showing your average daily gas usage recorded in megajoules (MJ). This is the figure needed to calculate your emissions. You should see the average daily MJ usage for each billing period on separate bars. We want you to find the most accurate figure for your annual usage, as it often varies from season to season! So bear with us... Option One – if you have the average daily usage figures for the past 12 months This is the most accurate way of calculating your annual gas usage. Find your daily usage figures for the last 12 months – usually four billing periods Add these together, and divide by four to find your true daily average Multiply this by 365 to find your total annual gas usage For example: Average daily use for Jan – Mar: 40 MJ Average daily use for Oct – Dec: 80 MJ Average daily use for July – Sept: 100 MJ Average daily use for April – June: 150 MJ Add these together: 40 + 80 + 100 + 150 = 370 Divide this by 4 to find the average annual daily usage: 370 / 4 = 92.5 Average annual daily usage = 92.5 MJ Multiply this by 365 to find your total annual gas usage 92.5 x 365 = 33,762.5 Annual gas usage = 33,762.5 MJ Use this figure in the calculator Option Two – if you just have the average daily usage figure for the last billing period This is less accurate, as your usage changes from season to season, but can be used if you don’t have data for the last 12 months Find your daily usage average Multiply this by 365 to find your total annual gas usage For example: Average daily use for Jan – Mar: 70 MJ Multiply this by 365 70 x 365 = 25,550 Average annual use: 25,550MJ Use this figure in the calculator Note: The average home usage 64,366MJ of gas/year (www.saveenergy.vic.gov.au) hide
Electricity	-	+		X kg
Electricity Hints Electricity: As with gas usage, looking at your most recent electricity bill, you should see a table or bar graph showing your average daily electricity use recorded in kilowatt hours (kWh). This is the figure needed to calculate your emissions. You should see the average daily MJ usage for each billing period on separate bars. We want you to find the most accurate figure for your annual usage, as it often varies from season to season! So bear with us... Option One – if you have the average daily usage figures for the past 12 months This is the most accurate way of calculating your annual gas usage. Find your daily usage figures for the last 12 months – usually four billing periods Add these together, and divide by four to find your true daily average Multiply this by 365 to find your total annual electricity usage For example: Average daily use for Jan – Mar: 15 KWh Average daily use for Oct – Dec: 16 KWh Average daily use for July – Sept: 26 KWh Average daily use for April – June: 20 KWh Add these together = 15 + 16 + 26 + 20 = 77 KWh Divide by four for annual daily usage average = 19.25 Multiply this by 365 19.25 x 365 = 7026.25 Average annual use: 7,026.25MJ Use this figure in the calculator Option Two – if you just have the average daily usage figure for the last billing period This is less accurate, as your usage changes from season to season, but can be used if you don’t have data for the last 12 months Find your daily usage average Multiply this by 365 to find your total annual electricity usage For example: Average daily use for Jan – Mar: 20KWh Multiply this by 365 20 x 365 = 7,300 Average annual use: 7,300KWh Use this figure in the calculator Note: The average home uses 5,727kWh of electricity per year. (www.saveenergy.vic.gov.au) hide
Oil or Kerosene	-	+		X kg
Oil or Kerosene Hints hide
Wood for Heating small combustion heater	-	+		X kg
Wood for Heating small combustion heater Hints hide
Wood for Heating open fire	-	+		X kg
Wood for Heating open fire Hints hide

Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Household:			kg

Activity

Your household's use

Yearly emissions

Petrol

X kg

LPG

X kg

Diesel

X kg

Air Travel

X kg

Air Travel Hints

Air travel:

Landcare CarbonSMART will soon have a flight trip calculator to help you measure exact flight distances, however currently, we ask that you use the below distances as a guide to estimate your travelled kilometres:

Domestic flights

The following table provides approximate ONE-WAY distances in kilometres for Australian domestic flights*

	Melb	Syd	Bris	Hob	Adel	Can	Per	Dar
Melb		705	1380	615	641	469	2699	3140
Syd	705		750	1039	1162	236	3274	3151
Bris	1380	750		1782	1618	956	3605	2850
Hob	615	1039	1782		1170	850	3020	3750
Adel	641	1162	1618	1170		969	2120	2620
Can	469	236	956	850	969		3090	3140
Per	2699	3274	3605	3020	2120	3090		3649
Dar	3140	3151	2850	3750	2620	3140	3649

The following provides approximate ONE-WAY common overseas distances in kilometres:

Melbourne - Christchurch = 2420
Sydney - Auckland = 2160
Sydney - Singapore = 6289
Sydney - Beijing = 8956
Sydney - London =17010
Sydney - Los Angeles = 125052
Sydney - New York = 16034
Sydney - Frankfurt =16570
Sydney - Johannesburg = 11044
Sydney - Santiago = 11840

*Courtesy of www.carbonplanet.com.au and www.qantas.com.au

hide

Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transport:

Activity	Your household's use			Yearly emissions
No Bins Per Week of Co-mingled rubbish your wheelie bin, not* including recycling*	-	+		X kg
No Bins Per Week of Co-mingled rubbish your wheelie bin, not* including recycling* Hints hide

Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Waste:			kg

Your yearly greenhouse emissions is tonnes of CO₂-e.

There are lots of things you can do to help reduce your carbon footprint. Just changing the light globes in your house can make a huge difference!

See how you can make real reductions in every day life.

Question	How much can you reduce?		Your answer	Percent savings	Emissions saved
Heating/Cooling
Can you set your heating/cooling thermosat to 18-20° in winter and 26° in summer?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
Can you seal gaps around doors to reduce drafts?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
Can you top up insulation in your roof?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
Can you replace your heating system with a more energy efficient model?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
Can you install double glazing in your windows?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
Total Savings from Heating/Cooling:				kg (0%)
Appliances
Question	How much can you reduce?		Your answer	Percent savings	Emissions saved
Can you turn off lights when they are not in use?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
How many lights could you replace with energy efficient bulbs?	0 lights	20 lights	X		Xkg (X%)
If you have an extra fridge, can you turn it off?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
Can you replace your fridge with a more energy efficient model?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
Can you turn off appliances when they are not in use?	None	All	X		Xkg (X%)
Total Savings from Appliances:				kg (0%)
Bathroom
Question	How much can you reduce?		Your answer	Percent savings	Emissions saved
Can you use cold water when washing?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
Can you take shorter showers?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
If you were looking to replace your hot water service could you replace it with a solar hot water service?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
Total Savings from Bathroom:				kg (0%)
Transport
Question	How much can you reduce?		Your answer	Percent savings	Emissions saved
How much could you reduce your car usage through public transport, cycling or walking?	0 %	50 %	X		Xkg (X%)
If are considering buying a car could you decrease the fuel consumption. Moving from 10 l/100 km to 5l/100km saves 50% (more information)	0 %	50 %	X		Xkg (X%)
Total Savings from Transport:				kg (0%)
Waste
Question	How much can you reduce?		Your answer	Percent savings	Emissions saved
Can you recycle any more waste?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
Can you compost or use green waste recycling?	No	Yes	X		Xkg (X%)
Total Savings from Waste:				kg (0%)

Overall Potential Savings:				kg (0%)

First Name:		Last Name:
Email Address:		Post Code:

Calculate your household's greenhouse gas

Your yearly greenhouse emissions is tonnes of CO₂-e.

Your yearly greenhouse emissions is tonnes of CO2-e.

Be Carbon Smart - Purchase Carbon Offsets

YES, I want to purchase offsets for my Household Waste emissions.	tonnes = $

	TOTAL = $