We need to rethink the relationship between producer and consumer as we move into a carbon constrained economy. All carbon emissions in our economy are ultimately emitted for or by a consumer.

For example, a company does not mine bauxite and produce aluminum (a carbon emission intensive process) with blocks of aluminum as the final useful product. Rather, the aluminum is purchased by other companies who manufacture it into beverage cans, automobiles, electronics, sporting equipment and thousands of other products that consumers choose to buy every day.

The emissions at each step of a product’s life from raw materials to finished goods are logically and morally attached to the consumer’s (your) purchasing decision. The CarbonCounted philosophy is that the correct place to measure and influence the carbon emission starts at the retail purchase point.

For example, a manufacturer of toolboxes would likely directly emit carbon dioxide emission in the following ways:

• Electricity in the plant is used from power generation that burns coal
• Natural gas is burned in ovens to cure the paint on the toolboxes
• Fuel gas is burned to run the boilers for steam generation in the plant’s processes
• Diesel fuel is burned to ship the toolboxes to their customers

Further, the same toolbox manufacturer would purchase raw materials from suppliers that have also emitted carbon dioxide.

By linking the supply chain together like building blocks in our CarbonConnect web application, we make it possible to clearly represent the total carbon emitted in a consumer product while also giving the manufacturer useful supply chain data and tools to influence carbon emissions within their supply base.