Alina Oprea • 17 May, 2023 at 5:09 PM
The number of tenants in a house, the surface of the house, and the consumption of electricity and natural gas are some of the parameters according to which anyone can calculate their personal carbon footprint when it comes to housing, according to a platform created by the Circular Economy Coalition (CERC). The calculator is available on the economiecirculara.eu platform measures the carbon footprint within a year. Users can also calculate the carbon footprint in terms of flights, public transport, water consumption, or waste management.
"The first calculator of the personal carbon footprint, adapted to the socioeconomic realities in Romania, was made by CERC in 2021 and is available free of charge to anyone who wants to know and be aware of their own impact on the environment and their own consumption, in order to reduce them", says Alex Laibăr, executive director of the association.
The calculator is available on the economiecirculara.eu platform has algorithms that are based on international standards and measurements and measure the carbon footprint within a year.
"At the end, we will find out what our personal carbon footprint is, with a high degree of accuracy, and we will be able to compare it with the average in Romania, with the European average, with the world average, and with the world target", he adds.
In the absence of legislation that would direct companies and the Romanian economy towards a circular model, the Coalition for the Circular Economy also contributed to the realization of studies that support the central authorities for the elaboration of specific laws. Among them is a 2020 study on the opportunity and impact of implementing the Warranty-Return System in Romania, a project that will become operational this year on November 30.
Today, CERC has more than 60 members who come from various business backgrounds, from the field of waste management (recyclers, packaging collectors, responsibility transfer organizations), to companies in the field of goods production, whose consumption generates waste, and even law firms, consultants and experts on environmental issues. CERC members include Raiffeisen Bank, ING Bank, IKEA Romania, PepsiCo Romania, DS Smith Romania, CanPack Recycling, Green Group, Asociaţia Ecotic, Taparo SA, and others.