The impact of the workplace, and personal purchase patterns
At the bottom of this page, we provide the chapter summary for this portion of 'How to Live a Low-Carbon Life'. This provides some of the main conclusions from the material covered in the main text. In the rest of this page, we comment on new products, research findings and offer feedback from customers. NEW RESEARCH ON OFFICE ENERGY USE Chapter Summary While the food supply chain is by far the most important source of indirect emissions of greenhouse gases, other sources should not be neglected. For most of us, the next most important source of indirect emissions is the workplace. According the Carbon Trust, the average office creates about 131kg of carbon dioxide per square metre each year. This includes gas or oil for heating and electricity for office machinery and air-conditioning. Typically, offices allocate 10 to 12 square metres of space per person, meaning a figure of about 1.3 to 1.5 tonnes for each employee. Poor performers might be as high as 4 tonnes. So far, we have focused on cutting indirect emissions from altering food consumption habits and from better energy use in offices. The third and final recommendation is, unfortunately, the most general and unspecific: it is simply to consume less of the material things of life. Even a small new car might embody 3 tonnes of carbon dioxide. A total of 120 beverage cans – the average UK consumption – produce 20kg of emissions if not recycled. One tonne of cement forming the base of a patio gives off 1 tonne of carbon dioxide when setting. Supplying water to the average home creates about 80kg of carbon dioxide per person per year at the pumping stations. Detailed estimates of the carbon impact of each major industry are provided and the implications for suggested changes in consumption patterns are discussed.
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