The purpose of a carbon footprint analysis or Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is to quantitativatvely measure a given entity, organism, product, or organization's impact on the natural environment in terms of its emission of greenhouse gases (carbon) into the atmosphere. Carbon is abundantly present in many physical forms in the natural world--but is most commonly targeted for measurement in its gaseous state, which is most responsbile for the greenhouse effect. The most common greenhouse gas (GHG) is carbon dioxide (CO2). Other more potent GHG's, such as methane (CH4) and ozone (O3), can be converted into carbon dioxide equivalents (eCO2) for a uniform measurement--be it per person, per square foot, per year, per dollar, etc.

As an educational institiution, DePauw's carbon footprint can be divided into sectors for specific analysis, such as electricity, transportation, and solid waste, for instance. A carbon footprint analysis takes quantiative eCO2 measurements and intprets them into actionable qualitative strategies for emissions reduction.

These can include:

• Identification of hot-spots in terms of energy consumption and associated CO2-emissions (such as campus vehicles)
• Optimisation of energy efficiency (use less to do more)
• Identification of solutions to neutralise the CO2 emissions that cannot be eliminated by energy saving measures (carbon offsetting)

Once all tangible reduction goals have been maximized, carbon offsetting is a useful strategy for "cancelling out" those emissions that are not within the realm of mitigation. Offsetting is becoming increasingly popular among consumers and institutions that would like to be able to claim carbon neutrality--but do not have the technological or financial resources to feasably do so. DePauw has yet to engage in carbon offsetting as part of its greater sustainability strategy.