Go Zero®

Climate change has become the most pressing environmental issue of this century. But while many of us agree that we must do something, the challenge sometimes seems great. What small action can you take to make a difference? Go Zero®. The Conservation Fund’s Go Zero program makes it simple and economical for individuals, corporations, or even entire communities to first measure their carbon dioxide emissions, learn helpful ways to reduce those emissions, and then offset the remainder by planting trees.

Did you know?

The World Bank estimates that 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by deforestation. Estimates are that as much as 50% of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the last 50 years may be due to the effects of changing land use patterns. In the United States alone, we lose more than two million acres of forests, farmland and natural landscapes each year to development. And in the Lower Mississippi River Valley, more than 20 million acres of native forestland have been cleared in the last century.

While restoring America’s forests alone will not stop global warming, given the scale of the effort required to tackle climate change, we need to pursue new technologies that help us reduce our footprint and at the same time, recognize and use the tools we have at our fingertips.

One of those tools is reforestation. Since 2000, the Fund has restored 20,000 acres of forestlands with six million trees through its carbon sequestration programs. These trees will capture an estimated 7.2 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over their lifetime. Use the Fund’s Go Zero Carbon Calculator today to estimate your emissions and Go Zero.

How to use the Go Zero Carbon Calculator

1. Open the calculator by clicking the link above then input your annual consumption for three categories (home energy use, daily transportation, and air travel). The entire process takes about five minutes.

2. The calculator will estimate your carbon footprint for the year, as well as the number of trees it will take to neutralize your personal impact on climate change.

3. Go Zero! With your donation, The Conservation Fund will plant the appropriate number of native trees on your behalf to help fight climate change.

Who Should Go Zero?

Whether you are a private business or an individual, you too can help fight climate change by measuring and then “zeroing out” your carbon dioxide emissions. As an individual, you can use the Go Zero® Carbon Calculator to measure and offset your carbon footprint. For businesses, The Conservation Fund’s Go Zero® corporate program provides scalable tools and strategies that to measure and then offset the carbon emissions for a particular business unit or corporate operations.

How is my personal carbon dioxide footprint calculated?

Your estimated annual carbon dioxide footprint is the sum of the carbon dioxide that is produced by your home energy use, auto transportation, and air travel. The total number of lbs is converted to tons. On average, each tree planted as part of the Fund's Go Zero program sequesters approximately one ton of CO₂ equivalent over its lifetime.

For a complete list of formulas, calculations, and sources, download the Go Zero® metric sheet.

If you still have questions, check out our Go Zero® frequently asked questions.

For more information, contact Jena Meredith, Director, Go Zero.