Calculate your footprint

See how you can calculate your footprint with Ducky's open footprint calculator

About the footprint calculator

What is it?

This is a personal climate calculator that instantly estimates your annual CO2e footprint.

The calculator is intended as a simple demonstration of functionality that Ducky Insights can deliver through APIs (data connections between apps). Climate footprints are even more useful when calculating with real data, and are made available through apps that many people use on a daily basis! What other use cases can you imagine?

How does it work?

You start out with the average footprint per year, divided into Ducky's main categories and subcategories. Click any category to expand questions you can answer. On each question, add your habits and details, and see your estimated footprint go up or down as a result!

When you click an option, you will also see more details about that option and how it is calculated.

How accurate is it?

The accuracy increases with the number of questions that are answered. The questions that have the highest impact on the footprint are among others income, home type and the number of cars in the household. Read more in our articles about methodologies and sources in our climate calculator.

Why are the numbers different from other footprint calculations?

Climate footprint cannot be measured directly; it is calculated based on available information and some assumptions. Therefore, footprint calculation is not an exact science and different methods will give different results. Read more in our footprint FAQ.

Why is my footprint different from the average person?

The average you can see in Ducky Footprints and apps that use our compare functionality is the true statistical average. We do a simulation of all households in the country, and divide the number by the population.

When you calculate your footprint or use an app based on our footprint calculations, you get the statistical mode, or the footprint that occurs most often in the population. We start out with an individual with an average lifestyle and habits.

Can I see how I am doing in relation to the 1.5-degree goal?

As of today, we do not have a correlation between the 1.5-degree goal and private footprints. We only have a comparison between your footprint and an average per country. But, in order for us to halve our emissions by 2030 and come down to zero emissions in 2050, we must on average reduce our emissions by approx. 5% each year. We will probably visualize this better in the future, and in the meantime you can calculate for yourself how much you should reduce your footprint.

Why is option X missing?

We are continuously working to add new and relevant options. In the meantime please select the option most similar to your case. For instance instance if the option "semi detached house" is not available, choose "row house" instead. Some options might be available in our calculations but have not been added to this website yet. Check our technical API documentation for details on what is available today.

Food and drink

I'm composting my food waste, why can't I enter this?

We're working to add this question.

I'm choosing local, seasonal food items and avoiding plastic packaging, why can't I enter this?

Choosing local, seasonal or avoiding plastic wrapped food has little impact on your climate footprint, although these choices may be positive for other sustainability indicators. We're working to add more details on a later point.

Energy

I have a more environmentally friendly heating source than the alternatives you provide. Which alternatives should I choose then?

We have tried to cover the most common heating methods but unfortunately we do not have not have all sources of bioenergy such as pellets, forest waste etc. Some functionality might be available technically but not on the open footprint calculator. You get the most correct footprint by choosing "Heat pump: liquid to water" as the main heating source, and state approximately how much firewood you burn per year

Can I override various CO2-values inside the calculator?

As of today, it is unfortunately not possible to override the numerical values in the calculator if, for example, you know your exact energy consumption in kWh. We're based on the footprint of the average Norwegian, but the various variables can then be adjusted closer to your own consumption.

Is washing dishes by hand worse for the environment than using a dishwasher?

This is hard to quantify because it depends on how conscious you are of hot water use when you hand wash dishes. But in general, yes, modern dishwashers are quite efficient and to be preferred over hand washing.

How is the energy use distributed between dishwasher and washing machine?

You can think of it as an even split. We're working to decouple these two appliances in the calculations.

I've got very energy efficient appliances, why can't I enter this?

This is complicated because the rating systems change over time so "A+" doesn't translate directly to energy consumption. We might add more details on a later point.

I'm on a green energy tariff, why can't I enter this?

in the UK and many other countries, you can choose to purchase energy tariffs or guarantees of origin that are promoted as a guarantee that your electricity comes from renewable sources.

This issue is complex because a guarantee of origin doesn’t actually influence how clean your electricity is now, but rather contributes to clean energy investments being more profitable in the future. Read more about our take on guarantees of origin.

I have a greywater recycling system installed, why can't I enter this?

Greywater systems can be very effective in reducing overall water usage, but might not influence the footprint calculation much. This question would be more valuable if we add water usage as a separate indicator. 

I have a drain-water heat recovery system installed, why can't I enter this?

We might add more details on a later point.

Goods and services

I spend very little money and dislike shopping, but I still get a high footprint in the consumption of goods and services category. Why?

We calculate the average consumption of a household based on income. The idea is that the more you earn, the more income you have available to spend on goods and services. The figure is adjusted based on the composition of the household.

I spend very little money on home decoration and renovation, but I still get a high footprint in the housing and maintenance subcategory. Why?

When it comes to housing and maintenance, this is an annual footprint and one that is adjusted for a person's lifetime. An average person will spend a large part of their available income in this category during their lifetime, usually in in the form of large one-time expenses.

We are not waiting for these purchases to be made to include them in the calculation. So even if you do not pay anything in this category at the moment, it does not mean that it is not part of your annual footprint.

Why can't I enter the frequency of purchasing new clothes?

The granularity of our current calculator doesn’t allow this (we only look at the total amount spent on clothes per year), but definitely a potential improvement.

Why can't I enter the type of broken item I have repaired?

Repairing could be any product, for instance clothes, electronics or furniture. The real effect of this habit obviously varies a lot with what items are actually repaired, but the calculation of individual items repaired would be very complicated. The overall habit input is still quite accurate when considered over longer periods of time.

Transport

Why do you ask for the number of trips, rather than distance traveled?

It's often easier to remember the number of trips, and people have very different perceptions of distance and time.

What is the average distance traveled for commuting and leisure purposes?

We distinguish between commuting and leisure trips. The average commute is 15 km from home, meaning 150km total travel per week. The average person also travels 113 km per week for leisure purposes.