Current State

The web-based Carbon Footprint Calculator for Schools Is out Now!

Check Your School’s Emissions Using a Calculator

For now the calculator is available in Finnish and Swedish (for English, you can use the translation available in the browser).

With the school’s carbon calculator, you can, for example:

• Estimate the carbon footprint of the entire school or your teaching group for a year.
• Compare the impact of different activities on emissions.
• Visualize the emission amounts.
• Calculate the emission calculation tasks in the Repair Manual for Schools.
• Plan necessary emissions reduction actions for your school’s path to carbon neutrality.

-> Online version of the school’s carbon calculator

The calculator has been simplified and modified from the Excel version created in 2022. You can find the original version at the bottom of the page.

Watch the instructional video for using the calculator here. Subtitles in FIN/SWE/ENG.

 

Instructions for Using the School’s Carbon Calculator

Welcome to use the School’s Carbon Calculator! This tool is designed to estimate the carbon footprint generated by a school annually. It examines the carbon dioxide emissions from activities during school days or related to school functions. Emissions from leisure activities are excluded from the analysis. The calculator is suitable for both classroom use and planning the school’s emissions reduction strategies.

You can fill in the calculator by:

• Completing all sections.
• Filling in only specific sections.

You will receive:

• Emission amounts for each section.
• A more accurate estimate of the school’s total carbon footprint the more comprehensive the information you provide (all fields completed, number of participants, and duration of the tracking period).
• A calculated carbon footprint for the entire year and school based on the assumption that the school operates throughout the year in the same way as described in the data.
• Visual representations of the carbon footprint.

Keep in mind these points:

• Be prepared to cooperate when searching for consumption data.
• Be ready to track modes of transportation and waste amounts if your school has not previously collected this data.
• The goal is to raise general awareness of emissions, so we’ve simplified things for ease of use.
• Support materials for using the calculator can be found on the Kirkkonummi Kiikarit – Peek into Sustainability page (link to the page) and in tasks from the School Repair Guide.
• The instructional video for the calculator is available. Subtitles are available in Finnish, Swedish, and English. Watch the tutorial video here (link to YouTube video).

The calculator was developed in the Kirkkonummi Kohti hiilineutraalia koulua -project in collaboration with the Oulu Kestävä opinvirta -project for climate and sustainability education in upper secondary schools, as well as the Lauttasaaren yhteiskoulu Kestävä tulevaisuus -project. The calculator was developed by Lotta Yli-Kuivila, Paula Ratava, Tiina Mölläri, and Jussi Tomberg. The projects are funded by the Finnish National Agency for Education, the Municipality of Kirkkonummi, the City of Oulu, and Lauttasaaren yhteiskoulu. The calculator is based on the original Climate High Schools -project and the calculator built by HAMK. The online calculator was implemented by Laboratorio Uleåborg. The emission factors used, with sources, can be found at this link.

If you have feedback or questions about the calculator, please contact:

• Lotta Yli-Kuivila, lotta.yli-kuivila(a)kirkkonummi.fi, phone: +358 40 657 5463
• Paula Ratava, paula.ratava(a)ouka.fi, phone: +358 40 593 1963

If you use, share, or modify the 2024 version of the School’s Carbon Calculator, please remember to credit the creators (2024: Kohti hiilineutraalia koulua-, Kestävä opinvirta – toimintamallit lukioiden kestävyyskasvatukseen – and Kestävä tulevaisuus -projects; 2022: Ilmastolukiot -project & Hämeen ammattikorkeakoulu) and include a link to the original document on these pages. CC license: CC-BY.

You can explore the original Excel version from spring 2022 at the following link.

Carbon Footprint Calculator for Schools (Excel version 2022)