Google is launching a carbon calculator to help people keep track of their CO2 emissions through a personalised home page.
The service will also provide a range of related information and services including individual action plans and relevant news feeds, while all the data gained will be collated into the search engine's UK Carbon Footprint map.
Kate Hammond, product marketing manager at Google, said that adding the data to a map would help highlight the "power of collaborative action" on climate change. "A lot of people feel small actions won’t make a difference, but seeing how your footprint and pledges to take action feed into a whole area illustrates that you can make a difference and also helps you communicate with other people doing the same thing," she said.
The calculator was built in partnership with the Energy Saving Trust and the RSA. It also draws on the government's Act on CO2 calculator for its data, calculations and approved methodologies.
Environment secretary Hilary Benn said: "We have decided to share our calculator data to ensure that even more people have the chance to calculate their carbon footprint - and because it is so vital that we all work together in the fight against climate change."
The Google site is the latest in a glut of carbon calculators that have prompted some critics to claim that conflicting methodologies could confuse people. However, Hammond insisted Google's approach would help establish a standard approach that would also be accessible to a large number of users.
"There are a lot of calculators out there now, but we feel the way ours links into other Google technologies such as the map and home page is particularly powerful," she said. "The fact you can always see your footprint and carbon reduction action plan on your home page helps ensure that this is not a one off exercise that you then ignore."
A version of this article first appeared at Computing.co.uk
