A book: carbon footprint

A book comes in at about 2.7 kg CO₂e (one paperback).

Of the 16 things you buy Carbonle tracks, A book sits at #5 from the lightest — one of the lightest.

This is the one-off cost of making the thing, before you use it. It's why a reusable tote only wins after many trips, and why a phone's footprint is the factory, not the charger.

Paper, ink and shipping for one paperback. More than people guess.

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Compare with

Figures from Wells et al., paperback LCA, J. Industrial Ecology (2012), licensed peer-reviewed.
How we get these numbers: Methodology.