Upstate's Carbon Footprint

Where Upstate Gets Its Energy

Carbon Footprint

An institution's carbon footprint is a measure of the global amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases emitted by a particular human activity.

The life cycle concept of the carbon footprint means that it is all encompassing taking into account all direct (what happens locally) and indirect (what happens elsewhere both before and after its local use) emissions need to be taken into account.

Normally, a carbon footprint is expressed as a CO₂ equivalent (usually in kilograms), which accounts for the same global warming effects of different greenhouse gases. The charts on this page are restricted to the immediately attributable emissions from energy use of fossil fuels. They show both the amount of emissions generated through the actions of people and how the energy was produced in the first place (e.g. from fossil fuels or renewable resources).