CARBON  FOOTPRINT

A carbon footprint is a measure which expresses how much greenhouse gas an activity, a product or a service produce.The gases which we have to include when we calculate the carbon footprint have been defined by the international protocol of Kyoto (enacted on 16th February 2005). They are:

- CO2,

- Methane (CH4);

-Nitrous oxide (N2O);

-Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC);

-Perfluorocarbons (PFC).

All these greenhouse gases are expressed in CO2 tons equivalent, in order to measure them with a common reference.For example, a ton of methane produces as much greenhouse effect as 25 tons of CO2, that's why we count it like 25 tons of Co2 equivalent.
To calculate the carbon footprint, we have to consider:

- How much CO2 an activity which is necessary to make a product or to offer a service produces.

- How many hectares are necessary to regenerate the resource that has been consumed to produce it.