It’s hard to visualise CO2e emissions. What does 1 kg of CO2e look like? How much CO2e do we produce by taking a flight or using our phone? When we were trying to calculate 1 kg of CO2e to find something everyone could visualise we landed on one universal item.
A hot dog.
Producing a hot dog, from the meat to the bun, is equivalent to 1 kg of CO2e. For simplicity, we’ll refer to this as the Hot Dog Unit (or HDU for short).
Daily life in Hot Dog Units
- Commute by car: Driving a regular car 5 miles is a single HDU. Think about it next time you’re stuck in traffic.
- Showers: Love long showers? That’s 2 HDUs. Time to speed up if you want to cut down on your consumption.
- Your phone: A year’s worth of phone use? That’s a pile of 70 HDUs.
Food’s footprint
- Pizza Night: Ordering a pizza? That’s 3.27 HDUs.
- Latte choices: Picking oat milk over dairy can reduce your latte’s footprint from 0.35 to 0.28 HDUs.
Smaller actions, big Impact
- Digital footprint: Each Google search equals 0.0002 HDUs. Tiny, but imagine the cumulative effect.
- Reusable gags: Using a new plastic bag is 0.033 HDUs. Keep a reusable bag handy and save those units.
Every unit counts
Remember, each unit saved is a step towards a greener future.
Flight (1h 15m): 40 HDUs.
Yearly phone use: 70 HDUs.
Mobile phone use (1hr): 0.172 HDUs.
Google search: 0.0002 HDUs.
Large oat milk latte: 0.29 HDUs.
Dairy latte: 0.35 HDUs.
Plant-based latte: 0.14 HDUs.
Disposable coffee cup: 0.016 HDUs.
800g loaf of bread: 0.63 HDUs.
Banana: 0.07 HDUs.
Coffee: 0.05 HDUs.
Chicken (1 serving): 1.36 HDUs.
Pork (1 serving): 1.8 HDUs.
Fish (farmed, 1 serving): 1.8 HDUs.
Beef (1 serving): 7.7 HDUs.
Cup of tea: 0.04 HDUs.
Apple: 0.035 HDUs.
Rice (1 serving): 0.33 HDUs.
Pasta (1 serving): 0.117 HDUs.
Tomato: 0.16 HDUs.
Potato: 0.04 HDUs.
Takeaway pizza: 3.27 HDUs.
Bottle of wine: 1.65 HDUs.
Glass of wine: 0.3 HDUs.
Pint of beer: 0.78 HDUs.
Plastic water bottle: 0.083 HDUs.
Plastic bag: 0.033 HDUs.
Microwave use (0.945 kWh): 0.4 HDUs.
Toilet paper roll (2 ply): 1.3 HDUs.
