Carbon Footprint, Resources and Sustainability

This lesson covers carbon footprints, strategies for reducing them, the distinction between finite and renewable resources, sustainability, alternative methods of metal extraction, and life cycle assessments, as required by the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry specification (1CH0). This brings together the environmental themes from across the course.

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What Is a Carbon Footprint?

A carbon footprint is the total amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full life cycle of a product, service, event or person. It is usually measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂e).

The carbon footprint includes emissions from:

• Raw material extraction (mining, drilling)
• Manufacturing (energy used in factories)
• Transport (moving materials and products)
• Use (energy consumed during the product's lifetime)
• Disposal (landfill, incineration, recycling)

Exam Tip: A carbon footprint is not just CO₂ — it includes other greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide, expressed as a CO₂ equivalent. However, CO₂ is usually the largest contributor.

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Reducing Carbon Footprints

There are many strategies for reducing carbon footprints at individual, national and global levels:

Energy Supply