Getting Started
Starting your school’s carbon reduction journey can be daunting, but with Count Your Carbon, it’s easy!
Count Your Carbon guides you through calculating your carbon footprint and building a carbon reduction plan in five bitesize steps:
- Step one: Register your setting
- Step two: Gather your data
- Step three: Complete your calculation
- Step four: Review your report
- Step five: Build your carbon reduction plan
Watch the video below for a step-by-step walkthrough of the Count Your Carbon process.
Click the button below to access the Data Gathering Guide downloads. We provide both a printable and digital version.
Step one: Register your setting
First, you’ll need to register an account. You’ll be sent a verification email – don’t forget to check your junk mail for the email.
Once verified, you’ll be invited to register your setting. You’ll be asked for information such as address, staff and student numbers and setting type.
This section is easy for any member of staff to fill in and can be completed in around three minutes.
Step two: Gather your data
Use our data gathering guide to gather all of the data you need to complete a calculation. We recommend completing this in full before starting a calculation.
You may need to consult with several individuals, such as your business manager, site manager, and canteen manager, to obtain the information you need. If you can’t get hold of certain information, don’t worry! The calculator contains built-in averages which can be used to fill in any gaps.
Schools report that on average, this takes around 3 hours in total to complete.
Step three: Complete your calculation
Sit down with your completed data gathering guide and complete your calculation.
There are additional helpful tips included throughout, and you can opt to use average data if you’re missing any data.
Schools report this process takes around 20 minutes.
Step four: Review your report
Once you’ve completed your calculation, you’ll be directed to your results page, which will provide you with the following:
- The total carbon footprint for your setting
- Your footprint broken down across 11 emissions areas
- Your footprint over time (if you’ve completed more than one calculation)
You should also download your Carbon Footprint Report PDF, which includes information on the methodology behind Count Your Carbon, as well as guidance on how to proceed with building a carbon reduction plan. This is useful for sharing with stakeholders.
Step five: Build your carbon reduction plan
Use our Carbon Reduction Guide and Carbon Action Planner resources to build a carbon reduction plan tailored to your setting. These are linked within the Next Steps section of your Carbon Footprint Report.
Our Carbon Reduction Guide features over 60 carbon-cutting actions for you to select from. These are categorised via several metrics to allow you to select those most appropriate for your setting. Once you’ve selected your actions, simply tick the boxes against them in the Carbon Action Planner to generate your carbon reduction plan.
This process is subjective to your setting and therefore the time you choose to spend on this is flexible.
