What Are The Carbon Footprints of Popular Products and How Can Companies Lower Emissions?

JANUARY 2021

The Carbon Catalogue, a collaboration between CoClear and SpryGroup, is an interactive data visualization that can give information on the life cycle of over 800 consumer and commercial products made by 145 companies in 28 countries. It includes detailed data about carbon emissions to make each product, and the carbon footprint left behind by each product when factoring in contributions such as upstream, manufacturing (i.e. company-owned facilities), and downstream. 

Choose a favorite company or product of yours, and use your mouse to hover over the product to see the information about its carbon footprint. Are there any products that surprised you by having a high carbon footprint? How can companies make their products better to lower carbon emissions? Change the tabs to view certain years, certain companies, or certain sectors of products.

Students

  1. After viewing the map above, think about these three questions:
    • What do you notice?
    • What do you wonder? What are you curious about that comes from what you notice in the map?
    • What might be going on in this graph? Write a catchy headline that captures the main idea. If your headline makes a claim, write what you noticed that supports your claim.
    The questions are intended to build on one another, so try to answer them in order. Start with “I notice,” then “I wonder,” and end with “The story this map is telling is ….” and a catchy headline.
  2. Next, join the conversation by adding to the discussion below. (Students 13 and older are invited to comment, although teachers of younger students are welcome to post what their students have to say.)
  3. After you have posted, read what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting a comment. Use the “Reply” button to address another student directly.
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