The Carbon Cost of Christmas

Abstract

Christmas time is accompanied by seasonal increases in our level of consumption. From eating and drinking to giving and receiving, it is the time of the year when we do things to excess. Unfortunately, it also means we are likely to have a greater impact on the environment. Our total consumption and spending on food, travel, lighting and gifts over three days of festivities could result in as much as 650 kg of carbon dioxide emissions
(CO2) per person - equivalent to the weight of 1,000 Christmas puddings! This is 5.5% of
our total annual carbon footprint .

Full text

Gary Haq, Anne Owen,
Elena Dawkins and John Barrett
The Carbon Cost
of Christmas

The Carbon Cost of Christmas
Gary Haq, Anne Owen, Elena Dawkins
and John Barrett
Stockholm Environment Institute
Kräftriket 2B
106 91 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel: +46 8 674 7070
Fax: +46 8 674 7020
E-mail: postmaster@sei.se
Web: www.sei.se
Publications Manager: Erik Willis
Web Manager: Howard Cambridge
Layout: Richard Clay
Climate Talk is a communication project aimed at raising awareness
and understanding of climate change issues in North Yorkshire.
For further information see: www.climatetalk.org.uk
Copyright © 2007 by the Stockholm Environment Institute
This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educa-
tional or non-prot purposes, without special permission from the copyright holder(s)
provided acknowledgement of the source is made. No use of this publication may be
made for resale or other commercial purpose, without the written permission of the
copyright holder(s).

3
CONTENTS
Introduction 4
Christmas Consumption 5
Christmas Food
Christmas Travel
Christmas Lighting
Christmas Shopping
Actions for a Low Carbon Christmas 6
Technical Details 7
“Heaped on the floor, to form a kind of throne,
were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn,
great joints of meat, sucking-pigs, long wreaths
of sausages, mince-pies, plum-puddings, barrels
of oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-checked
apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears, immense
twelfth-cakes, and seething bowls of punch, that
made the chamber dim with delicious delight.”
“A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens

4
The Carbon Cost of Christmas
Christmas time is accompanied by seasonal
increases in our level of consumption.
From eating and drinking to giving and
receiving, it is the time of the year when we
do things to excess. Unfortunately, it also
means we are likely to have a greater impact
on the environment. Our total consumption
and spending on food, travel, lighting and gifts
over three days of festivities1 could result in as
much as 650 kg2 of carbon dioxide emissions
(CO2) per person - equivalent to the weight of
1,000 Christmas puddings!3 This is 5.5% of
our total annual carbon footprint4.
1 Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing
Day
2 This is from food (26 kg), travel (96 kg), light-
ing (218 kg) and consumables (310 kg)
3 Based on the net weight of a Christmas Pud-
ding being 650 g
4 Based on the UK average footprint of
11.87 tons/person/year
However, we can still have a good Christmas
and be kind to the planet. With a bit of
thought we can limit the impact we have on
the environment this Christmas and still have
a great time. There are a number of actions
we can all take which can reduce our CO2
emissions by over 60% to 250 kg5. This
is equivalent to a saving in weight to 615
Christmas puddings.
In this time of seasonal goodwill, we should
all spare a thought for the planet.
5 This is due to savings from food (16 kg),
travel (63 kg), lighting (2 kg) and consumables
(169 kg)
Introduction
Cost of Christmas in Carbon Dioxide (kg) and Christmas Puddings
CO2/person (kg) Equivalent weight in
Christmas Puddings1
Christmas food 26 40
Christmas car travel 96 148
Extravagant Christmas Lighting 218 335
Christmas shopping 310 477
Total 650 1000
1Assuming an average Christmas pudding weighs 650 grams

5
Stockholm Environment Institute
CHRISTMAS FOOD
The average person will produce 26 kg of
CO2 from the food they consume during
the Christmas period.1
• A vegetarian Christmas would result in a
saving of 3 kg of CO2/person.
• An organic Christmas (50 per cent of
food consumed being organic) would
result in a saving of 2 kg of CO2/person.
• A low waste Christmas could result in a
saving of 7 kg of CO2/person.
Christmas dinner will result in a mountain
of raw vegetable waste - the shells of
approximately 240 million Brussels sprouts
and the peelings of 105 million potatoes, 20
million parsnips and 30 million carrots.6
A combination of a vegetarian, organic, low
waste Christmas can reduce your Christmas
food footprint by as much as 8 kg of CO2/
person to 18 kg.
CHRISTMAS TRAVEL
At Christmas we will travel approximately
three billion miles to visit family and
friends. This is equiavlent to the average
Briton travelling 121 miles over the festive
period.7 If all festive travel was undertaken
by car this could result in an additional 96 kg
of CO2/person being produced.
Switching from travelling by car to travelling
by train can result in a saving of 63 kg of
CO2/person.
6 RecycleNow (2007) www.recyclenow.com/
home_composting/news/highlights/compost_has_
real.html
7 Travelodge (2006) www.travelodge.co.uk/
press/article.php?id=197
CHRISTMAS LIGHTING
Extravagant outdoor Christmas lighting
displays can add £75 on to your electricity
bill.8 This additional lighting can result in 500
kg more CO2/household9. This is 12.5 times
more CO2 than using a regular set of 160 bulb
fairy lights which produces only 40 kg of CO2/
household.10 Alternatively, energy efcient
LED bulbs use only 5 kg of CO2/household.
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING
This year each person will spend an average
£435 on Christmas gifts, of which, the
most popular choices will be clothes, books,
lms, music, cosmetics and fragrances.11
Spending £435 on these items means 310
kg of CO2/person – about 20 per cent of the
average yearly consumable footprint of 1,500
kg.12
Approximately £4 billion is spent on entirely
unwanted gifts – equivalent to £92 per
person.13 Nationally, this is equivalent to 4.8
million tonnes of CO2 being produced from
unwanted gifts.14
8 Energy Saving Trust (2005) www.energysav-
ingtrust.org.uk/aboutest/news/pressreleas-
esarchive/index.cfm?mode=view&press_id=468
9 This is 218 kg per person based on average
housing occupancies
10 Based on being lit for six weeks for 12 hours a
day
11 APCAS (2007) www.uswitch.com/news/credit-
cards/OctDec2007/apacs-releases-xmas-spend-
ing-prediction.cmsx?ref=google_uk
12 Based on annual proportional expenditure
and assuming an average per capita spending
of £158.31 on Clothing, £25.23 on household
appliances, £86.34 on audio-visual, photo and
information processing equipment, £92.75 on
recreational equipment, £48.16 on newspapers,
books and stationary, £24.21 on personal effects
13 ICM (2006) www.guardian.co.uk/christ-
mas2006/story/0,,1978791,00.html
14 Based on a UK population of 60 million
Christmas Consumption

6
The Carbon Cost of Christmas
About 80 kg of CO2/person could be saved
if unwanted gifts were not bought in the rst
place. Not giving unwanted goods could bring
the Christmas shopping footprint down to 230
kg of CO2/person.
UK households spent almost twice as much on
ethical goods last year as they did ve years
ago. 15 If the average UK shopper bought one
third of their gifts as ethical or low carbon
such as recycled wine glasses or charity gifts
the Christmas shopping footprint could be
reduced to 200 kg.
15 Cooperative Bank (2007) //news.bbc.
co.uk/1/hi/business/7120458.stm
The average Briton spends £7.40 sending
Christmas cards at Christmas. The impact
from Christmas cards is 5 kg of CO2/person.
Reusing cards or buying cards from charity
shops is a greener choice. Using email or
the phone would reduce the impact even
further.16
16 It is estimated that following all shopping
recommendations - only buying wanted gifts, a
proportion of which are ethical, and not send-
ing Christmas chards can reduce emissions from
consumables to 169 kg of CO2/person

7
Stockholm Environment Institute
Actions for a Low Carbon Christmas
FOOD
• Support your local economy and
try buying from local organic
suppliers.
• Compost your vegetable peelings
after you’ve nished cooking to
make sure that this extra organic
waste doesn’t head straight to
landll.
• Plan your meal carefully to reduce
the amount of uneaten food thrown
away – check who likes Brussels
sprouts!
TRAVEL
• Plan your Christmas travel to
reduce the distance travelled
and try and use environmentally
friendly modes of transport or car
share.
LIGHTING
• Less is more when it come
Christmas lighting! Opt for a small
tasteful lighting display and turn
the fairy lights off before bed and
save both money and carbon.
SHOPPING
• When it comes to Christmas
presents buy quality not quantity.
Well-made goods last longer and
will not have to be replaced in the
New Year.
• A good Christmas gift doesn’t
necessarily have to be expensive.
Think about giving alternative
gifts such as a charity or
environmentally friendly gift, an
experience or giving your time.
• Give your unwanted gifts to charity
or to local hospitals or hospices.
Potential Savings at Christmas in Carbon Dioxide (kg) and Christmas Puddings
Potential CO2 savings/
person (kg)
Equivalent weight in
Christmas puddings1
Food
Vegetarian Christmas 3 5
Organic Christmas (50%) 2 3
Low waste (composting food) 7 11
A combination of vegetarian/organic/low waste
christmas 8 12
Travel
Taking the train to family and friends 63 97
Lighting
Using a regular a set of energy efficient LED
fairy lights rather than an extravagant display 216 332
Shopping
Not buying unwanted Christmas gifts 80 123
Not sending Christmas cards 5 8
1Assuming an average Christmas pudding weighs 650 grams

8
The Carbon Cost of Christmas
CHRISTMAS FOOD
The food footprint for the average person in
the UK is 412 kg of CO2 per year. During the
Christmas period (3 days of festivities), the
average household will spend £169 on food
and drink this year.17 This equates to £73 per
person and a Christmas food footprint of 26
kg. Replacing the meat with vegetables can
reduce the Christmas food footprint to 23 kg.
Alternatively, replacing food with organic
options can reduce the footprint to 22 kg of
CO2/person.
Between one third and one quarter of the
food we buy is thrown away.18 By shopping
carefully and planning meals more efciently
we can limit food waste and reduce the
Christmas food footprint to 19 kg per person.
A vegetarian, organic, low waste Christmas
has a food footprint of 18kg CO2/person.
CHRISTMAS TRAVEL
On a normal day, the average Briton travels
24 miles which has a footprint of 14 kg of
CO2/person associated with it. During the
Christmas period the average Briton will
travel 121 miles to visit family and friends. If
this travel is by car, the footprint increases to
96 kg.19 By switching from travelling by car to
travelling by train, the footprint of Christmas
travel can be reduced to 36 kg.
17 www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/site/index.
php/site/view/retail_christmas_will_bring_a_
boost/
18 RecycleNow (2007) www.recyclenow.com/
home_composting/news/highlights/compost_has_
real.html
19 Travelodge (2006) www.travelodge.co.uk/
press/article.php?id=197
CHRISTMAS LIGHTING
An average household’s footprint from
lighting their home and running their
appliances for one year is 1800 kg of CO2.
Those households with very extravagant
Christmas lighting displays can add £75 on
to their electricity bill20. These additional
lighting costs can increase your footprint by
500 kg per household. Switching from an
over the top display to 160 regular bulb fairy
lights reduces the footprint to 40kg.21 Using
efcient LED bulbs can reduce the footprint
to 5 kg per household.
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING
The footprint associated with consumables
is 1500 kg of CO2/person per year. This year
each person will spend an average of £435 on
Christmas gifts, of which, the most popular
choices will be clothes, books, lms, music,
cosmetics and fragrances22. The footprint of
spending £435 on these items is 310kg – one
fth of your yearly amount!
A study has shown that £4 billon is spent
on entirely unwanted gifts – equivalent to
£92 per person23. If the unwanted gifts were
not bought in the rst place, the Christmas
shopping footprint would reduce to 230 kg
per person.
20 Energy Saving Trust (2005) www.energysav-
ingtust.org.uk/aboutest/news/pressreleasearchive/
index.cfm?mode=view&press_id=468
21 Based on being lit for six weeks for 12 hours a
day
22 APCAS (2007) www.uswitch.com/news/credit-
cards/OctDec2007/apacs-releases-xmas-spend-
ing-prediction.cmsx?ref=google_uk
23 ICM (2006) www.guardian.co.uk/christ-
mas2006/story/0,,1978791,00.html
Technical Details

9
Stockholm Environment Institute
UK households spent almost twice as much
on ethical goods last year as they did ve
years ago. 24 If the average UK shopper
bought one third of their gifts as ethical or
low carbon such as recycled wine glasses or
charity gifts from Oxfam, the footprint could
reduce to 200 kg.
The average Briton spends £7.40 sending
Christmas cards at Christmas. The impact
from Christmas cards is 5kg of CO2. Reusing
cards or buying cards from charity shops is
a greener choice. Using email or the phone
would reduce the impact even further.
24 Cooperative Bank (2007) //news.bbc.
co.uk/1/hi/business/7120458.stm
TOTAL CHRISTMAS FOOTPRINT
The total impact from Christmas could be
as much as 650 kg per person. Following
the tips above, the impact can be reduced
by over 60% to 250 kg per person.
A MERRY LOW CARBON
CHRISTMAS TO EVERY
ONE OF YOU!
Calculations produced by the
Stockholm Environment Institute,
University of York, using the
Resource and Energy Analysis
Program (REAP) model
R

Stockholm Centre
Kräftriket 2B
SE -106 91 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel+46 8 674 7070
York Centre
University of York
Heslington
York YO10 5DD
UK
Tel+44 1904 43 2897
U.S. Centre
11 Curtis Avenue
Somerville, MA 02144
USA
Tel+1 617 627-3786
Tallinn
Lai 34, Box 160
EE-10502, Tallinn
Estonia
Tel+372 6 276 100
Centre
Oxford Centre
Suite 193
266 Banbury Road,
Oxford, OX2 7DL
UK
Tel+44 1865 426316
The Stockholm Environment Institute
SEI is an independent, international research institute specializing in sustainable development
and environment issues. It works at local, national, regional and global policy levels. The SEI
research programmes aim to clarify the requirements, strategies and policies for a transition to
sustainability. These goals are linked to the principles advocated in Agenda 21 and the
Conventions such as Climate Change, Ozone Layer Protection and Biological Diversity. SEI along
with its predecessor, the Beijer Institute, has been engaged in major environment and
development issues for a quarter of a century.
www.sei.se
Asia Centre
15th Floor, Witthyakit Building
254 Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn Soi 64
Phyathai Road, Pathumwan
Bangkok 10330
Tel+(66) 22514415
Thailand