Photo: Stora Enso/©Kalle Kouhia
If you can fathom the first two numbers, everything else makes much more sense.
37.4 billion is the total tonnes of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted in the past year. IEA
Zero is the number of tonnes we need to aim for to stop global heating. You might have seen it called near-zero or net-zero because there is no viable road to zero. We will always produce some emissions and that’s okay, CO₂ is not intrinsically bad; in fact, trees thrive on it. The problem is we generate too much. We need to get back to preindustrial levels so what we emit is in balance with what the planet can absorb. Anything more than that only slows global heating down but won’t stop it.
Ways to remove emissions and store it exist, like building with wood and sustainable forestry. Take your project for example. Look up the total amount of cubic metres on your invoice or make an estimate. Feel free to use our Reference Library to get an idea of the volume you would need for a project you have in mind. Now, enter that number into the calculator. You’ll quickly see the emissions generated to make your wood products but look at how much you will store.
What’s that little ‘e’ at the end of CO₂e mean?
Quick science lesson: CO₂ is the biggest culprit cooking our planet, but not the only one. Nitrous oxide (aka laughing gas), turns out to be not so funny; it’s a greenhouse gas too. Methane (aka what’s that smell?) is in all the gas cookers and gas water heaters. Methane is 37 times more effective at heating up the planet than CO₂. EC
Scientists count the different degrees to which greenhouse gases heat up Earth, but comparing molecule for molecule, each gas has varying degrees of warming potential, so they produced a way to measure their impact called ‘carbon dioxide equivalents’. That’s quite a mouthful, still, so they abbreviated it to CO₂e. Don’t worry, most of us forget what the little ‘e’ means, so you can just say greenhouse gases, and everyone knows what you mean. We just use it on our calculator because we always use science-based, third-party verified numbers to be sure.
Now see how your footprint compares with these facts and figures:
3.74 billion tonnes of CO₂ were emitted last year to make steel and concrete. IEA
7.7 tonnes of greenhouse gases on average are generated by each European per year. Statista
35 % is the amount of European emissions that has decreased since 1990. And even more encouraging, 2024 will be another record year for renewables. Watch for even more mass timber buildings, they’re on the rise. Statista
22 % is the amount Stora Enso reduced the carbon footprint of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) since we started counting in 2020. Stora Enso’s already ultra-low emission cross-laminated timber (CLT) also dropped its footprint by 12% as we constantly find ways to lower our emissions, so your buildings have the lowest possible footprint.
6,000 tonnes of CO₂ were removed from the air and stored in Stora Enso’s new Head Office.
5 total kg of CO₂ were used to transport all of the mass timber from the mill to build Ybbs Kindergarten, Austria – talk about tiny footprints.
15,621 tonnes of CO₂ were removed from the air and stored in the largest project Stora Enso has ever delivered: Arboretum, France.
10,000 is roughly how many years CO₂ stays around after generating it. CARO
70 is the price in euros to emit a tonne of CO₂. The EU’s polluter pays legislation (ETS) is helping reduce the use of energy emissions since it was introduced. EC
4 methods can type the little 2 in CO₂: the x₂ symbol in your font ribbon; Strg and the Equal sign (=) at the same time (lots of fingers); Insert symbol (lots of clicking); ALT key + 8322 (old school).
1 is the number of companies in the world to survive the Middle Ages, the Reformation, the Industrial Revolution and every war in between. Only one company has adapted to an ever-changing world and is now leading in tackling the climate crisis with renewable solutions —Stora Enso.