Wedding Footprint Calculator

IT’S WHAT WE CALL WEDDING ACTIVISM
A simple tool to calculate the carbon footprint of your wedding, to enable you to offset or reduce your impact.

Weddings and sustainability might seem like an odd couple, but we’re here to challenge that.

This world’s first Wedding Footprint Calculator combines industry knowledge with scientific data, empowering you to work out your wedding’s carbon emissions…better yet, tangible ways to plan your wedding with care for the planet.

How to use the calculator
Enter the answers to each question in the boxes and dropdowns below. The tool works best on a desk/laptop device.
You may need to look up a few details, such as how far your international guests are traveling (search this roughly on Google maps).
If you don’t know the answer, select “no” and our assumptions will do the job.
If you wish, re-calculate your result based on more eco-friendly options and learn how much of a difference you can make.
As our wedding culture is similar across the globe, the calculator is applicable internationally – for both couples and vendors.
LET’S BEGIN
  OVERVIEW Field      
 
Please enter your details to activate the form below.
 
  Your name: Enter your name
  What best describes you?
About yourself
  Your Email: Enter your email address
  Sign up to the Polka Dot Circle?
Polka Dot Circle
 
  EVENT        
 
  Event Location
Local: within 20km from home
  How many guests will be at the wedding (including couple)? Number
  Total number of vendors working at the wedding Number
  (for catering include 1 staff member per 10 guests)        
  What is the duration of the wedding (wedding + reception)? Hours
 
  TRAVEL & ACCOMODATION        
 
  (How are you and your guests travelling to the wedding?)        
  Any guests flying in from overseas (search this roughly on google maps)?
 
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
  km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
  Any guests flying in from other regions/states (more than 20 km away)?
 
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
  km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
    km (distance travelled) Number of People
  Locals using public transport Number of People  
  Locals using the car Number of People  
  Accommodation (couple) - Will you stay in a hotel on your wedding night?
   
  Accommodation (guests staying in a hotel overnight) - Calculated automatically -      
           
 
  THE COUPLE        
 
  (If wearing your pre-owned clothes add 0)        
  Wedding Dress Number of dresses
 
Predominant Material
 
Condition
  Tailored Wedding Suit Number of suits
 
Condition
  Jewellery (wedding rings) - Choose “recycled” for pre-owned or re-modelled Wedding ring 1      
   
Predominant Material
 
Stone (if any)
    Wedding ring 2      
   
Predominant Material
   
Stone (if any)
  WEDDING PARTY - Bridesmaids, Groomsmen
 
  (If wearing your pre-owned clothes add 0)        
  Dresses Number of dresses
   
Condition
  Suits Number of suits
   
Condition
  Jewellery (Bridesmaids/Groomsmen gifted jewellery) Number of pieces
   
Condition
 
  CATERING        
 
  Will this event include any catering (food/beverages)?
 
  Meals        
  Dinner
 
  Dessert
 
  Food - What percentage (%) of your food will be        
  Vegetarian %
  Vegan %
  Pescatarian %
  Meat (red meat, poultry, pork, seafood) %
  Beverages        
  Hot beverages
Black coffee/Tea    
  Alcoholic beverages
Beer/Wine/Sparkling/Spirits 
 
  Other beverages
Soft Drinks     
  Will refillable water stations be provided?
 
  Serviceware        
  Cutlery
 
  Plates
 
  Coffee/Tea cups
 
  Glasses
 
 
  DECORATIONS        
 
  Will this event include decorations?
 
  Tablecloths/Cloth napkins
  Fabric decorations/Rugs
  Furniture (e.g. tables and chairs)
  Florals      
  (Ask your vendor if needed)      
  Ceiling and venue installations, arbour Number of Arrangements 
  Floral Bouquets (e.g. bride's bouquet and table arrangements) Number of Arrangements 
  Are you using floral foam (plastic base) in your arrangements?
     
  Are the flowers being recycled (composted) after the wedding?
     
 
  THE EVENT        
 
  Invitations & Stationary
 
  Will you have printed names on the tables (or other paper tags)?
 
  Will you send a printed invitation to your guests (if online, choose "no")?
 
  Will you have printed menus/thank-you cards?
 
           
  Wedding Team (Celebrant, Photographer, Makeup Artist etc)        
  Are all vendors local?
 
  How many vendors are coming from other cities? Number
  How many vendors are coming from other regions? Number
  How many vendors are coming from overseas? Number
  Venue Energy Use        
  Indoor or outdoor venue?
If both, choose: "Indoor"
  Does the venue use green electricity (solar/wind)?
     
 
  Waste (automatic calculations)        
 
  Paper and Cardboard kg    
  Plastic (including floral foam) kg    
  Organics (food) kg    
  Organics (flowers/plants) kg    
  Other kg    
 
Carbon Footprint Results
           
 
Total Carbon Footprint
 
           
 
Carbon Footprint Per Guest
 
[No canvas support]
 
[No canvas support]
       
           
Open hand with plant outline
 
Compared to an average Australian wedding, yours uses:
 
 
more carbon emissions (negative values mean that you produced less emissions)
Airplane
 
Your wedding produces the same carbon footprint as a:
 
 
return flight for 2 people 
Forest scene
 
To offset the impacts of your wedding, you can plant:
 
 
trees
           
  Your Carbon Footprint Compared to Others (kgCO2eq)        
           
 
[No canvas support]
       
           
In case you wanted to know
This calculator was developed by Edge Environment for Less Stuff – More Meaning, with wedding specific data. We created a model of the total wedding footprint based on supplier data, lifecycle assessment databases and some of our research to fill in the gaps. We used greenhouse gas (CO2 equivalent) factors from an impact assessment method called ReCiPe with Australian life cycle assessment data (from two databases, AusLCI and Exiobase). The impacts of waste production are based on the average waste produced in events in Australia and New Zealand. As our wedding culture is similar across the globe, the calculator is applicable internationally.

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