How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

In developing countries, the average person’s carbon footprint is between 12-16 metric tons/year of CO2e. (Learn more about your own carbon footprint here.)

Scroll for some easy things you can do to start to reduce that both in your household and personally:

Air-Dry Your Clothes

To reduce your footprint about 1.1 Metric Tons.

Choose Clean Energy

If your utility has this option, avoid fossil-fuel sources of your grid-based electricity
to reduce your footprint about 2 Metric Tons.

Eat 1 Pound Less of Beef Each Week

To reduce your footprint about 2.4 Metric Tons.

Recycle Paper, Glass, and Cans

To reduce your footprint about 0.7 Metric Tons.

Compost food waste

To reduce your footprint about 0.4 Metric Tons.

Turn Down Your Water Heater

The default setting on most water heaters is 140 degrees F. Turn it down to just 120 degrees F to reduce your footprint by about 0.3 Metric Tons.

Buy Second-Hand Clothes

Avoid fast fashion and buying new clothes to reduce your footprint about 0.3 Metric Tons.

Do Laundry With Cold Water

Not only will your clothes last longer, but you can reduce your footprint about 0.2 Metric Tons.

Want more tips for reducing your carbon footprint?

We've created a handy PDF that offers a variety of small actions you can take that can add up to make a big difference.