Best Practices
The Carbon We Consume
A Greenhouse Gas Impacts Assessment of Consumer Demand in California
How Our Purchasing Choices Impact Climate Change
On behalf of Green Cities California, the City of San Francisco Department of Environment recently commissioned this statewide assessment of how our purchasing choices impact climate change. The report, entitled “The Carbon We Consume: A Greenhouse Gas Impacts Assessment of Consumer Demand in California,” also offers insights on ways each of us can reduce our contribution to climate change by making thoughtful choices when we shop.
For example, the food choices we make have an extraordinary impact on greenhouse gas emissions, as you can see in the snapshot on page 6 of this booklet. In fact, as demonstrated in the graphic on page 16, the top three contributors to climate changing greenhouse gas emissions are:
- restaurants;
- red meat; and,
- processed and refrigerated drinks.
A graphic representation on page 17 highlights skillful food choices that dramatically diminish our contribution to climate change.
As David Assmann notes in his introduction to this study, world leaders are now calling on us to make a cultural shift from consumerism to sustainability. We hope this booklet will help you make that shift.
Last updated April 17, 2012
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
GCC policies have resulted in...
- Conversion of over 665 million sheets of paper to 100% recycled content each year, which saves:
- 10 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions
- Almost 80,000 trees
- More than 23 million gallons of water
- More than 6,600 barrels of oil
- 1,633,302 plastic water bottles from being landfilled, which saves:
- GCC member cities over
$1.6 Million
Connect!
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube