Why Start Auditing?

2019 was the year I decided to stop having vague guilt about climate change and start measuring exactly what my carbon footprint looked like. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.

Methodology

I tracked four main categories:

1. Home Energy - Electricity and gas usage
2. Transportation - Flights, trains, cars, local travel
3. Work Travel - Conferences, meetings, site visits
4. Major Purchases - Electronics, furniture (embedded carbon)

For each, I used standard conversion factors to calculate CO2 equivalent emissions.

The Results

Total 2019 Carbon Footprint: 12.4 tonnes CO2e

Breakdown

Key Findings

Aviation Dominates

Nearly 60% of my footprint came from just four international flights:

• Two transatlantic trips to conferences
• One trip to Asia for research collaboration
• One European holiday flight

A single long-haul flight can equal months of all other activities combined.

Home Energy Significant

Despite living in a relatively efficient flat:

• Gas heating during winter months
• Year-round electricity
• Still on standard (non-renewable) energy tariff

Ground Transport Modest

• Daily bike commute keeps this low
• Occasional car journeys for family visits
• Train travel for UK conferences

Surprises

What shocked me:

1. Conference travel impact - Two work trips accounted for 5 tonnes alone
2. Heating in winter - December-February dominated home emissions
3. How quickly it adds up - Small decisions compound

What was less than expected:

1. Local transport - Cycling makes a real difference
2. Electricity - Relatively low despite home office use
3. Consumer goods - Lower than feared (but I buy less than average)

The UK Average

For context, UK average per capita is around 5.5 tonnes. I’m at more than double. The uncomfortable truth: academic life, with its international travel expectations, is carbon-intensive.

Immediate Actions Taken

Based on this audit:

1. Switched to renewable energy tariff (estimated 2.8 tonne reduction for 2020)
2. Questioned necessary travel - Can this meeting be virtual?
3. Improved home insulation - Draft-proofing, better curtains
4. Started carbon budgeting - Treating carbon like money

Challenges Identified

• Work travel pressure - Academic career advancement often requires conference presence
• Collaboration distances - Research partners are global
• Infrastructure limitations - Some journeys lack low-carbon options
• Systemic issues - Individual action alone insufficient

Psychological Impact

Seeing the numbers was confronting. It’s one thing to know flying is bad for the climate, another to see that two weeks of work travel equals most people’s annual footprint.

It also revealed how carbon-intensive “normal” professional life is. This isn’t about being exceptionally profligate – it’s about how our systems are structured.

Looking Forward

This baseline gives me something to measure against. Goals for 2020:

• Reduce total footprint by 40%
• Cut flight emissions by half
• Achieve near-zero home energy emissions (via tariff switch)
• Make only one long-haul flight (if absolutely necessary)

Methodology Notes

Conversion factors used:

• Flights: 0.246 kg CO2e per passenger-km (long-haul economy)
• Gas: 0.185 kg CO2e per kWh
• Electricity: 0.277 kg CO2e per kWh (grid average)
• Petrol: 2.31 kg CO2e per litre

Data sources:

• Energy bills (actual usage)
• Flight distances (Great Circle distances)
• Mileage logs (estimated for car travel)

Reflection

This first audit was an education. The gap between perception and reality was significant. I thought I was reasonably low-carbon – turns out I wasn’t.

But now I have data. And data means accountability. And accountability, hopefully, means change.

See next year’s audit for progress against these numbers.