This new government site lets you measure the impact of what you buy and eat

The government provides the public with a website, Impact CO₂which makes it possible to know the emissions necessary to manufacture and consume objects of our daily life.

The Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe) offers French people various simulators to help them better understand the world around them. CO impact₂ is one of the tools offered to consumers. This simulator makes it possible, as its name suggests, to quantify the impact on the climate (in CO equivalent₂) objects used and gestures made in our everyday lives. And some results will amaze you.

Understand the impact on the climate of our everyday gestures and objects

Highlighted by the Datagir public service thanks to Ademe data, available in open data, the Impact CO simulator₂ helps us understand what a television, a meal with beef or the manufacture of jeans weighs in terms of CO emissions₂and what we can compare them to.

Remember that the CO equivalent₂ makes it possible to measure the significant emissions of various greenhouse gases. Each is reduced to a CO equivalent₂, according to its warming power. For example, one kilogram of methane is equivalent to 28 kg of CO₂, because it is simply 28 times more warming. ” If the manufacture of a product emitted 1 kg of methane and 1 kg of CO₂then the total impact of this product is 29 kg CO equivalent₂ “, explains Ademe.

Several categories of everyday objects and gestures are offered, such as digital, furniture, heating, drinks and meals, transport, clothing, household appliances as well as fruit and vegetables.

A rather playful site, with infographics that hit the mark

In the case of a television (between 40 and 49 inches) for example, the site announces 412 kg of CO₂e issued per product. The infographic, present just under the data, then gives us a comparison with other devices of the same category (digital) to clearly image the real impact of the object sought. In terms of CO emissions₂e, a single television is equivalent to 3 laptops or 13 smartphones.

A little further down the page, Ademe provides us with the detail of the footprint of a television, which can be personalized thanks to the lifespan data of the device which can vary. Considering that the device has a lifespan of 8 years, we see that the raw materials necessary for its manufacture account for 77.2% of CO emissions₂e. Usage corresponds to 15.1% of the footprint in CO equivalent₂and assembly and distribution processes account for 6.6% of emissions.

It is also possible to use the converter of the platform and enter a quantity of CO₂e in kg in order to obtain the correspondence in liters of bottled water, in km by car, in km by TGV, in T-shirts, in meals with beef or vegetarians, and in smartphones, among others. It is quite possible to compare different elements of various categories with each other.

The parameters are multiple on the site, rather playful and which could be very useful in raising awareness about our consumption in everyday life.

Source : CO impact₂