Welcome to the New Forest Carbon Footprint Project!

Brockenhurst takes the lead with small steps to big change

What is your Carbon Footprint?

Your carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) emitted as a result of your actions and activities in life. Every individual in our modern western society leaves a carbon footprint as the result of his/her personal energy consumption in one-way or another. Calculate your carbon footprint here.

The average household footprint in the UK is approximately 10 tons CO 2 per year, including road and air miles. Roughly one third of this comes from our consumption of domestic fuels for heating, cooking and running electrical appliances. So, one way to help reduce the impact that your carbon footprint has on the planet is to insulate your home and save energy in many different small ways.

The New Forest Carbon Footprint Project

The project is working Brockenhurst community to encourage and help people to reduce their carbon footprints by suggesting eight steps that we can all take to decrease the CO 2 emissions that result from our energy consumption at home.

Although people sometimes feel that their own efforts are insignificant on a global scale, a collective community effort makes savings in CO 2 emissions much more significant and worthwhile. As momentum builds towards combating global warming, some communities in the UK already embarked on similar projects. In Brockenhurst, we too can play our part and help make a difference.

Our Community Effort – THE EIGHT STEPS

The project is focusing on eight key steps that you can take to reduce your household CO 2 emissions. The first four steps involve reducing the amount of energy you use in your everyday lives. The remaining four involve improving the insulation to your home.

• Reducing car journeys by 20%
• Turning off stand bys
• Switching to a ‘Green’ electricity tariff from renewable sources
• Changing to low energy light bulbs
• Draught proofing
• Double Glazing
• Cavity wall insulation
• Loft insulation

A leaflet is available for each of the suggested steps, explaining how it can help reduce your carbon footprint, the financial and carbon emission savings that can be expected, any costs involved and how to actually take the step. There will be three separate steps specifically for children and young people.

In addition to these main steps we offer information on how to reduce energy in small ways in the areas of driving, sourcing our food and cooking and laundry.

Look out for the village Carbon Saving Column. This will be put in a different location of the village each month. As households complete their individual steps, they will be recorded on the column. You will be able to see how the whole village is gradually completing the steps and therefore bringing down the collective carbon footprint.

Will our efforts make a difference?

Communities around the world are already experiencing the effects of climate change. Scientists predict that within 8 to 10 years time the effects of climate change will become irreversible. If we do not reduce our CO2 emissions sufficiently, the effects of climate change will inevitably have an impact on the New Forest and our local coastal environment and wildlife.

As UK households are thought to be responsible for around 30% of the total national carbon emissions, every reduction you make in your household carbon footprint makes a difference by reducing the risk climate change poses.

Over the Autumn and Winter there will be a series of event, films and talks related to climate change and specifically to its potential impact on the New Forest. Please click on our events page for more details.

Join the Brockenhurst community effort to make a difference to the future of the New Forest.