how astudio's carbon footprint changed in Covid lockdown ...

With lockdown restrictions easing, astudio thought it was a good time to reflect on how our lifestyle changes throughout lockdown have changed our carbon footprint, we aim to repeat this exercise when all restrictions have been lifted.

So, how big is the impact of our usual lifestyle on the Planet? Can we quantify it? Can we learn something from this pandemic to change our future behaviour for the benefit of the environment?

Our Sustainability Team initiated a study assessing each astudio member’s carbon footprint during lockdown (from mid-March to mid-September 2020; https://www.carbonindependent.org/). At the end, we will be able to measure how ‘working from home’ has changed our individual and collective carbon impact.

First thoughts on the results of this study’s first phase concern a probable individual and collective carbon footprint reduction thanks to the lesser use of airplanes and of public transport for commuting to work. During lockdown, our footprint mainly consisted of carbon produced by our shopping (miscellaneous) and food (including packaging), although we would expect that this latter has reduced from normal life by cooking at home rather than take-away eating.

Compared to the UK average individual carbon footprint, our practice results to be well below the UK average. However, compared to the rest of the world, our results are still higher than the world average and especially than some countries data (source: https://www.carbonindependent.org/), this could perhaps be due to our diverse studio. However it still serves as a powerful reminder that there is always more for us, and the world to do.

This interesting result highlights the importance of reflecting on and modifying our lifestyle especially in the so-called developed countries, the most responsible for climate change, as each of us individually can make a great contribution for the future of our Planet.