Using the Carbon Footprint Calculator
Understanding your carbon footprint is essential for reducing your environmental impact. The carbon footprint calculator helps you measure, track, and reduce your business's greenhouse gas emissions.
What is a carbon footprint?
Your carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases your business produces, measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). This includes:
Direct emissions — from vehicles, equipment, and heating you control
Energy emissions — from electricity and gas you purchase
Indirect emissions — from your supply chain, waste, and travel
Why measure your carbon footprint?
Measuring your emissions helps you:
Understand your impact — know where your emissions come from
Set meaningful targets — create realistic reduction goals
Track progress — see if your efforts are working
Communicate credibly — back up your claims with data
Identify savings — lower emissions often means lower costs
Accessing the calculator
Go to Tourism for Good
Navigate to the Environment section
Click on Carbon Calculator
Setting up your first calculation
Step 1: Choose your reporting period
Select the time period you want to measure:
Financial year — most common for Australian businesses
Calendar year — useful for international reporting
Custom period — choose your own dates
We recommend starting with your most recent complete year.
Step 2: Enter your business details
Provide basic information:
Business name and location
Industry sector (tours, accommodation, experiences, etc.)
Number of employees
Operating hours and seasons
Step 3: Gather your data
Before you begin, collect:
Electricity bills — kilowatt hours (kWh) used
Gas bills — megajoules (MJ) or cubic metres consumed
Fuel receipts — litres of petrol, diesel, or LPG
Vehicle records — kilometres travelled by type of vehicle
Flight records — any business air travel
Waste records — volume and type of waste produced
Don't worry if you don't have everything. Estimates are fine to start.
Entering your data
Energy consumption
Select Energy from the calculator menu
Enter your electricity usage in kWh
Add your gas consumption if applicable
The calculator uses Australian emission factors automatically
Transport and vehicles
Select Transport
Add each vehicle your business operates
Enter fuel consumption or kilometres travelled
Include any boats, buses, or specialised vehicles
Business travel
Select Travel
Add flights by entering origin and destination
Include any other business travel (trains, hire cars)
The calculator estimates emissions based on distance and mode
Waste
Select Waste
Estimate your waste volume by type:
- General waste to landfill - Recycling - Organic waste - Hazardous waste
Other emissions
Some calculators include:
Water usage
Refrigerant gases
Purchased goods and services
Staff commuting
Add these if you have the data available.
Understanding your results
Your total footprint
The calculator shows your total emissions in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e).
Emissions by source
See where your emissions come from:
Energy usually accounts for the largest share
Transport is significant for tour operators
Waste is often underestimated
Comparisons and benchmarks
Compare your results to:
Industry averages
Similar-sized businesses
Your previous years
Setting reduction targets
Based on your results:
Short-term targets (1 year)
Focus on quick wins
Aim for 5-10% reduction
Target your biggest emission sources
Medium-term targets (3-5 years)
Plan for significant changes
Aim for 25-40% reduction
Consider equipment upgrades and operational changes
Long-term targets (10+ years)
Work toward net zero
Plan for major investments
Consider carbon offsetting for remaining emissions
Tracking progress over time
Regular updates
Update your calculator:
Monthly if you have easy access to data
Quarterly at minimum
Annually at the very least
Year-on-year comparison
Track your emissions over time to:
See trends and patterns
Celebrate reductions
Identify areas needing more attention
Recording actions
Link your emission reductions to specific actions:
Energy efficiency improvements
Vehicle upgrades
Behaviour changes
Renewable energy
Tips for accurate measurement
Use actual data when possible — estimates are fine to start, but improve accuracy over time
Be consistent — use the same methodology each year
Include everything — don't leave out inconvenient emissions
Document assumptions — record how you calculated estimates
Review regularly — update your data as you get better information
Measuring is the first step — what you do with that knowledge makes the difference.