Climate calculators are tools that can help schools measure their carbon footprint. Bigger isn’t always better, especially when it comes to the size of your carbon footprint. A carbon footprint measures total carbon dioxide directly and indirectly contributed by a school over the course of a year. The results can be used to take action to reduce your climate impacts.
Calculator for K-12 Students
Cool School Challenge Carbon Calculator
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has developed a national challenge for schools to reduce their carbon footprints. You can download their Microsoft Excel spreadsheet designed especially for schools and even students to work through the tasks. While you're calculating your school's footprint, go ahead and check out their challenge to be a Cool School. The steps you take to be a Cool School also help you qualify to be a National Wildlife Federation's Eco-School!
US EPA's Climate Check Spreadsheet Tool (Winzip file of Excel spreadsheet, 3.4 MB)
High School students can learn about climate change, estimate their school's greenhouse gas emissions, and identify ways to mitigate their school's climate impact. Students gain detailed understandings of climate-change drivers, impacts, and science; produce an emission inventory and action plan; and can even submit the results of their emission inventory to their school district.
US EPA 's Student's Guide to Global Warming Carbon Calculator
Offers an interactive series of suggested actions and questions that students can answer to identify whether they’ll take certain climate actions. There are recommendations to use less water, save energy, bicycle or walk to school, take public transit and recycle.
Calculator for District Officials
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager for K-12 School Districts
School district administrators can use EnergyStar Portfolio Manager to track energy and water consumption. This benchmarking tool also calculates greenhouse gas emissions. You can set priorities, monitor progress, and verify improvements of school facilities over time.
Calculator for Universities
Clean Air Cool Planet Campus Carbon Calculator
The Campus Carbon Calculator™, is available for download. The latest version includes new features, updates and corrections - including greatly expanded projection and solutions modules, designed to aid schools that have completed greenhouse gas inventories in developing long term, comprehensive climate action plans based on those inventories. The new modules facilitate analysis of carbon reduction options, determining project payback times, net present value, cost per ton reduced, and other relevant markers.