Climate Change

Case Study: Material Issue—Climate Change

This case study was originally published in our .

A product’s carbon footprint is the measure of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere throughout its life cycle, from raw material extraction and production to manufacturing, use, and disposal. Everything we use has a carbon footprint: a computer, a car, a watch, and the transit railcar we ride. Many of the world’s leading scientists state, with very high confidence, that there is a link between the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the increase in the world’s temperature.1