Proven climate mitigation results through material input and CO2 calculations of consumer choices

The consumer choices play significant role in climate mitigation policies and good way to measure the effectiveness is to use CO2 calculations. The example here is from reuse goods but the same principles apply to virgin goods also. . In 2019, the reuse centres in Helsinki region saved more than 54 000 tons of natural resources which equals to 15 000 tons of CO2 together with the customers.

There are number of reuse centres around EU countries implementing the environmental and waste management targets of the authorities but what really makes a successful one from the policy implementation point of view? When the target is to save natural resources or have climate mitigation effects, these should be proven with numbers for the climate impact to be clear.

The HMARC has developed a system where the natural material consumption of every item is estimated, and the savings of natural resources are reported every year. Now this system has been extended to include climate mitigation impact in the form of CO2 savings of consumers reusing different kinds of goods. These are all part of the environmental report and the calculations are conducted as part of the yearly reports.

The CO2 savings are also presented to every customer on the receipt as a concrete motivational act. It is an easy way to communicate to patrons, how their actions have had direct positive effects on the climate change mitigation.