One green step at a time

Sunita Rajesh

For most of us, there has never been a good outcome to being stuck in traffic. But things turned out differently for Sunita Rajesh. In July 2016, the traffic jam at a signal at Koregaon Park in Pune led her to have a moment of contemplation. "By its very nature, traffic is a unidirectional phenomenon, with everybody travelling at the same time. With smartphones, they are well-connected. So, I wondered why they wouldn't opt to carpool instead. On the other hand, the pollution you create by using your vehicle all the time is tremendous," she tells us.

The genesis
Absorbed with the idea of making people aware of their environmental impact, Sunita, who has a background in data management and analysis, proceeded to research on a metric that could best describe the impact. The result was an app called OnlyPlanet to calculate one's personal carbon footprint (PCF), i.e. an estimation of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions an individual is responsible for in a given year.

In April 2017, Sunita quit her job to pursue the project, and received help from Dr Harish Phuleria, professor of climate studies at IIT Bombay, on a pro-bono basis. OnlyPlanetcan be accessed through your phone and PC. A progressive web app, it launches on your browser and doesn't require downloading from an app store per say. "There are a range of PCF calculators available online but are mostly based out of the US and UK. I specifically built this for Indian cities", she explains. We give OnlyPlaneta go and the simplicity is commendable.

How it fared
Various parameters are taken into account - from local and outstation transport to the amount of electricity you consume and clothes you shop for - indicating just how much you contribute to climate change. Our total PCF amounted to 4889 kgs CO2e, 1600 kgs CO2e, 85 kgs CO2e kg a year, when the India average stands at 1,600. But this doesn't come as a surprise to Sunita.

"The India average is calculated on a per capita basis accounting for our rural areas as well. Anyone living in an urban area will have at least four times the impact."

We were surprised to learn how much of an impact we make by choosing to take public transport (our result was 85 kg). While flying out regularly, on the other hand, is great for Instagram attention it is terrible for the environment. Your combined result, in the end, depends on how specific you choose to be as the app allows you to add more details of your route.

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4889 kgs CO2e, 1600 kgs CO2e, 85 kgs CO2e