SUSTAINABLITY IN THE DESIGNED ENVIRONMENT Assignment

SUSTAINABLITY IN THE DESIGNED ENVIRONMENT - Assignment Example This has lead to the rising demand and need for carbon footprint calculations. There are several approaches that have been proposed to provide estimates ranging from simple online calculators to sophisticated life cycle analysis. Despite these approaches, a definite definition for carbon footprint has not been established. According to Wackernagel (1996), carbon footprint is generally termed as the quantity of gaseous amount that contribute towards global warming. The sources of carbon could be human production and consumption activities. The ISA Research Report (p. 4) defines carbon footprint as a measure of elusive total amount of carbon dioxide emissions directly or indirectly caused by an activity in its life stages. These activities include individual activities, populations, government, companies, organizations, processes, industries, among others. According to this definition, carbon footprint is restricted from area-based indicator. The total amount of carbon is measured in mass units such as kilograms and tons. This form of measurement does not give room to area unit hence there is no conversion to area unit such as ha, m ², and km ². Conversion into land area must be based on various assumptions and this increases uncertainties and errors related to particular footprint estimates. This is the main reason why accountants prefer to use appropriate units of measurement. The concept of carbon footprint should be all-encompassing and issue relative causes that lead to the rise of carbon emissions. Accurate measurement of carbon footprint ripples importance and precariousness in carbon offsetting. When considering indirect quantities of carbon emissions, the methodologies applied should eradicate undercounting and double counting of emissions. This substantiates the inclusion of the word ‘exclusive’ in the definition for carbon footprint. Life-cycle