Carbon Accounting

Your Carbon Footprint when Working From Home

The internet and cloud computing have made homeworking more viable than ever. But which has the bigger carbon footprint: your commute or heating your home? Use the WFH Calculator to find out. 

Want to learn more about the research behind this project? 

52

ktCO2e
European Inboxes

102

gCO2
Avg Website/year Views

135

kgCO2
1 Year of Emails

50

gCO2e
Video Calls/ hr

About This Project

The purpose of this portfolio was to create a calculator that measures the carbon footprint of people who work from home in Ireland. In addition to exploring greenhouse gas reporting, supporting research objectives included:

  • determine if there was a need for a work-from-home calculator
  • review the elements included by currently available calculators
  • establish a calculation methodology, and
  • determine the key elements for a Work From Home calculator.

Further research details including scope, and ethical considerations are outlined under methodology.

01

Literature Review

Secondary research to explore methodologies and determine a feasible DIY approach.

02

Interviews

Qualitative research interviews with two industry experts.

03

Survey

An online quantitative survey to gauge interest and attitudes to homeworking and carbon accounting.

04

WFH Calculator

The wireframe version of the calculator puts the methodology into action, and shows the assumptions made and calculation structure.

Further Information

Want to know more? These short overviews introduce key concepts in the world of carbon accounting.

Greenhouse Effect

A variety of gases cause the greenhouse effect. The GHG Protocol explains how to account for these.

Carbon Footprint

Carbon accounting is the process used to calculate the carbon footprint, of an individual or business.

Information & Communication Technology

ICT includes devices, cloud computing service providers and network services.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is the paid-on-demand delivery of IT services over the Internet.

Working From Home

The most common location when working remotely is to work from home