Carbon footprints: what makes them high or low?

Want to reduce your carbon footprint? Your lifestyle, diet, travel, and home all play a part in how much you impact the environment. Some activities that increase your carbon footprint might surprise you.

What is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) generated by your everyday life. For the average person in the UK, that’s around 10 tonnes per year⁽¹⁾, which is enough to fill 24 million balloons⁽²⁾.

We all have a role in helping Britain reach net zero. But what does that look like in everyday life? To help, we spoke with three people to explore what contributes to a high or low carbon footprint and offer tips to reduce yours.

Check out our real-life examples of greener choices

Meet Tom, 34: Low-carbon living in action

• Home: Terraced flat
• Travel: Works from home; cycles to the office twice a week
• Holidays: UK road trips and staycations
• Diet: Vegan since his early 20s
• Green habits: Unplugs electronics, composts, recycles
• Annual carbon footprint: 5 tonnes of CO₂

Tom's low-carbon choices—like cycling, a vegan diet, and UK holidays—keep his footprint well below the UK average.

Carbon-cutting opportunities:
Before the pandemic, frequent flights to Europe for work raised his emissions. Three return trips to the head office in Paris clock in at nearly a tonne of carbon. Switching to train travel could cut these emissions by up to 90%. Now, most meetings are online, helping Tom maintain his low-carbon lifestyle while saving both carbon and costs.

Meet Danielle, 46: Reducing a high carbon footprint

• Home: Semi-detached house
• Travel: Drives a 4x4 for school runs and errands
• Holidays: Travels to Dubai twice a year for work and takes a long-haul family vacation annually
• Diet: Eats meat most days; recycles infrequently
• Green habits: Installed loft insulation and energy-efficient bulbs
• Annual carbon footprint: 19 tonnes of CO₂

Danielle’s footprint is above average, largely due to frequent flights, regular driving, and a meat-heavy diet.

Ways to lower emissions:

• School run: Car sharing with other parents could cut emissions and ease morning schedules, potentially enabling more local grocery shopping instead of out-of-town trips.
• Travel alternatives: The pandemic has reduced Danielle’s need to fly, with meetings now held online —a switch that significantly lowers her footprint. When she must travel, opting for an electric vehicle (EV) for local trips could further reduce her emissions.
• Cutting meat: Reducing meat consumption could lower Danielle’s food-related emissions by half. Even adopting Meat-Free Mondays is a simple way to start lowering her impact if she's not ready to make a full dietary change.
• Home efficiency: Switching off electronics at the wall can save at least £15 a year, while checking loft insulation and installing a smart meter can help control and cut energy use, saving up to £415 annually.

Meet Laura, 22: Keeping a low carbon footprint

• Home: Two-bed flat share
• Travel: Cycles or walks to work; takes ferry or train for vacations
• Holiday: Prefers ferry or train travel over flying
• Diet: Vegetarian; prioritizes local produce
• Green habits: Reuses and recycles, avoids single-use plastics
• Annual carbon footprint: 3 tonnes of CO₂

Laura’s carbon footprint is the lowest of the group, thanks to her sustainable travel choices, vegetarian diet, and minimal plastic use.

Ways Laura keeps her footprint low:

• Travel choices: Preferring ferry and train travel instead of flying keeps Laura’s emissions significantly lower than average.
• Diet: Choosing a vegetarian diet reduces food-related emissions, especially by relying on local produce. This choice alone helps halve food-related carbon emissions.
• Waste reduction: By avoiding single-use plastics and reusing containers, Laura minimizes her non-recyclable waste, helping both the planet and her budget.
• Cooking at home: Cooking at home with local ingredients allows Laura to avoid the extra packaging and energy that come with takeaways.

Curious about your own carbon footprint?

If you’re ready to take the next step in understanding and reducing your environmental impact, why not check out your own carbon footprint? It's a simple way to see where your lifestyle may be contributing to emissions, and where you could make changes.

As you’ve probably noticed, some of the biggest contributors to a large carbon footprint are energy use and travel. If you're looking to make a difference explore our energy efficiency hub, or consider an electric vehicle to take the first step towards a greener future!