Devices (manufacturing + use)
Connectivity & storage (use only)
AI & search
Your usage
Annual carbon footprint
Methodology & Sources
This calculator is built on the methodology of the "Digitaler CO2-Fußabdruck" study by the German Öko-Institut (July 2020), commissioned by BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany), with the electricity grid factor adjusted to reflect Saudi Arabia instead of Germany, and recent AI query data added from 2024–2025 studies.
Every number in this tool is an estimate derived from published studies and average-case calculations, not a precise measurement of any individual's actual usage.
1. Why "manufacturing + use", not use alone?
The original study found manufacturing accounts for 61% of the total footprint under average use, and 52% under intensive use — typically outweighing the electricity consumed during operation. That's why manufacturing emissions are amortized over a device's expected lifespan: it reflects how build quality and longevity directly affect your annual footprint. The one exception is shared infrastructure services you don't own (network, cloud storage) — those are calculated on operational usage only.
2. Device data (manufacturing + operation)
| Device | Manufacturing | Lifespan | Active power | Standby power |
|---|
3. Service data (usage only)
| Service | Consumption rate | Default |
|---|
4. AI queries — updated 2024–2025 data
The original Öko-Institut study predates large language models, so it doesn't cover them. The figure used here (0.24 g CO2e per short query) is derived from documented energy use (0.42 Wh per short GPT-4o query, Jegham et al. 2025) multiplied by the Saudi grid factor (0.568) instead of the original US figure. Long or complex prompts should be multiplied by 2–3×.
Note: this figure comes from a preprint that hasn't been peer-reviewed yet, and other providers (e.g. Google) report figures roughly 8× lower for their own models — treat it as a rough estimate, not a precise measurement.
5. Electricity grid emission factor
| Source | Value | Reference year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grid factor used here | 0.568 kg/kWh | Applied throughout this calculator | |
| IEA (via ACWA Power report) | 0.520 kg/kWh | 2023 | Authoritative international source |
| Climate Transparency Report | 0.614 kg/kWh | ||
| Saudi Electricity Company (third-party estimates) | 0.569 kg/kWh | 2021 | SEC does not publish a regular official factor |
Primary sources
- Gröger, Jens (2020). Digitaler CO2-Fußabdruck — Datensammlung zur Abschätzung von Herstellungsaufwand, Energieverbrauch und Nutzung digitaler Endgeräte und Dienste. Öko-Institut e.V., commissioned by BUND. Primary source for all device and service data (manufacturing, consumption, lifespan) — oeko.de
- Digitalcarbonfootprint.eu — the original interactive calculator built on the same study. digitalcarbonfootprint.eu
- Gröger, J.; Liu, R. (2021). Green Cloud Computing — Lebenszyklusbasierte Datenerhebung zu Umweltwirkungen des Cloud Computing. Öko-Institut e.V. / Umweltbundesamt. Supplementary reference for cloud storage data
- Jegham, N. et al. (2025). Energy estimate for a short GPT-4o query (~0.42 Wh). Preprint, not yet peer-reviewed. arXiv preprint
- Ember Climate (2025). Yearly Electricity Data — Saudi Arabia grid emission factor. ember-energy.org — CC BY 4.0 licence