Do you have questions about the Footprint App? Check out our list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to find your answers! If your questions don’t appear below, feel free to comment your question and our community members will get back to you!

Q: How do I log into the Footprint App?

A: You can log into the Footprint App by visiting our software online here. From there, you can select your affiliation. If you are signing up as part of a group-wide engagement, you can select “organization” or “educational institution.” The “organization” option refers to members of a nonprofit organization, company, or other groups, whereas the “educational institution” option should be selected if you are using Footprint in a school or university classroom.

Q: How do I change my annual carbon footprint values?

A: You can modify your initially-logged carbon footprint values by selecting the “my profile” tab and clicking “my carbon defaults.” From there, you can edit each category and reset your annual carbon footprint.

Q: What’s so pressing behind climate change, and why does it matter to me?

A: We agree that climate change often seems like an abstract concept none of us feel close to. Many times, it’s easy to decide that a few degrees hotter or a few more storms seem like the impact to this. However, it is important to understand that climate change is not just a problem, it’s one of humanity’s largest existential crises, knowing no bounds based on status or setting. There are tangible impacts to this in our day-to-day life.

-Home damage: 40 million Americans are vulnerable to flooding that comes from rising sea levels from the climate, along with 700 thousand houses vulnerable to wildfires. As a result of higher sea levels and temperatures, houses suffer more from natural disasters. 

-Electricity bills and blackouts: As coastal America’s energy is hurt, so is inner America. 93% of cities have been analyzed to be using extra power as a consequence of higher temperatures, and as a result, there has been a 10 times increase in power outages. Without preventing the impending climate crisis, our families will lose power more often, face higher bills, and risk more home disasters in the future.

-Taxes: Due to more natural disasters, from snowstorms to tornados to coastal hurricanes, cities will all need to invest in more preventative measures. Due to this, the National Climate Assessment predicts a 3.5 trillion dollar increase in taxes without us stopping climate change. 

-Food prices: Food prices have risen 2.6 percent per year over the last 20 years, largely attributed to climate change, as storms wipe out harvests and increase spoilage. Starbucks itself is worried about where to grow its coffee, causing Arabica coffee prices to double. Without us making a difference, our way of buying food from the store will change. 

We need to be the change as soon as possible to mitigate these incoming issues, not just for us, but for future generations.

Q: Why me? How can I make a difference?

A: Many of us (55% of Americans!) feel as if the global issue of climate change is too much to take on alone when not everyone will. However, we need to understand that while much of the fossil fuels in today’s world are being produced by corporations, it’s us, consumers, doing the burning. We are the ones leaving the lights on, running our showers, and using dirty energy for our homes. Corporations should be held accountable, but by changing our habits, we can solve it at the source. A Vox article showed how in fact, 10% of emissions are from company fossil fuel emissions and the other 90% are from their products- which we control. 

A Footprint work in 7 classrooms is calculated to reduce 1.925 million tons from the atmosphere. If you and your family took action, imagine if that changed into a street, apartment building, or neighborhood. One person’s actions count for the ripple effect. 

Q: How do I know that Footprint is an effective tool?

A: Footprint is a highly data-driven company that has measured our outcomes on reducing carbon emissions. Our goal is to create a competitive environment for users to reduce their emissions in their day-to-day actions, by simply riding the Metro or turning off the lights. In fact, we tested user engagement and carbon footprint reduction within the classroom and organizations, reaching 435 users. After a two-week testing period, 351 users adopted more vegan/vegetarian choices. Over 100 students completed Footprint assignments, including case studies on sustainable companies and discourse on the importance of climate change. Each person averaged a 38%  reduction within the testing period, implying an 11,000-pound reduction per year.

Q: How can I join Footprint?

A: We love to see new users on Footprint! The first thing we’d suggest is checking out our online tool at www.myfootprintapp.org. From here, you can create either an individual account to track yourself or be redirected to our website to find information on how to create an organizational or school account. To gain a greater understanding of how to use Footprint as a tool in your organization, look on our website here for organizations and here for schools.

Q: How do we get our carbon footprint metrics?

A: Our program has proven environmental success for climate action and beyond. We found that users average a 20% reduction in their annualized carbon footprint when utilizing our program - equating to approximately 3 tons of CO2 reduced per person per year. That impact magnifies when assessing the collective nature of the Footprint tool. These methods come directly from the EPA carbon footprint calculator database that can be found online. We have signed up organizations that represent over 370,000 individuals - which, at 3 tons per individual per year, equates to 1.1 megatons of CO2 per year.

Q: What is the validity behind Footprint?

A: Footprint is backed up by a multitude of studies, as well as the model for the system itself. For example, Footprint was gauged to increase engagement and membership in the corporate energy transition by 400% when an internal survey was conducted. This shows us how Footprint is empirically able to increase the amount of climate action in a company via simply increased participation in the climate sphere. Moreover, general anchor studies have also proven the economic benefits of Footprint. For example, a study found that increasing corporate clean energy engagement by 10% can increase profits by 2,400 dollars. Studies analyzing warrant this by showing how a more clean focus in a company makes employees more engaged and enthusiastic about company actions, as well as tapping into the growing industry of clean energy. A wide array of studies conducted, not only on how Footprint operates, but the general premise of the software’s goals, align with positive results by using the app.

Q: How do I start up Footprint?

The place to start for Footprint is at www.myfootprintapp.org This is the page that allows you to log in to your Footprint account, based on being either a student, individual, or a company page. There is a code given to students and companies to access their specific room. Clicking the register page will allow you to enter this area. If you are just an individual, you want to register for Footprint as one and make your account to track your carbon footprint.

Q: Where do I get my code?

A: If you are currently using Footprint, contact the supervisor or HR room that is implementing Footprint to get what is referred to as the ‘company code’ to log into your platform. If you have signed up to use Footprint for your company, your company code will be emailed to you by Footprint. Search for this email in your inbox or potentially spam to access the company’s point of access for Footprint. If these options fail, contact Footprint for help at contact@footprintapp.org or 413-896-5064. After this, enjoy your access!

Q: How was Footprint formed?

A: In 2019, after noticing a drop in member retention and climate understanding within the Citizens Climate Lobby chapters in Houston, our co-founder, Dakota Stormer, had an idea for an app that could create a culture of sustainability. After numerous interviews with organizations such as NOAA and climate experts such as Frank Niepold, Footprint was created to help individuals challenge themselves to live more sustainable lives. In the current era of climate education, there was no scalable resource for students to utilize to engage in measurable actions to impact climate change. From its early beginnings as a prototype, the application itself has seen extensive development and optimization and now serves as a useful tool for individuals, classrooms, companies, and organizations in developing a shift towards environmental action and climate change mitigation. Amidst the COVID-19 Crisis, Footprint was able to discover NewGen Peacebuilders, a non-profit focusing on global education, with whom Footprint has partnered to build a school curriculum to help students become more educated about their future within a world where collective action will be the key to solving the climate crisis.

Q: Many people are hurt by climate change, but marginalized communities are hit the hardest. How do I know Footprint is empowering these individuals?

Footprint provides a solid foundation to creating equity in the climate movement by changing a system that provided equal rules for unequal players in the climate crisis. The current approach to the climate crisis places the onus of solving the climate crisis on those who may have no understanding of the problem itself while transferring away blame and relieving large corporations of a call to action. Footprint can solve this issue and help marginalized groups in two unique ways. First, Footprint is the perfect way to equitably distribute materials on climate education and information for those who are unaware of it. Footprint at its core serves as an educational platform, and especially for those who may not have developed long-term sustainable habits, it allows them to grasp important aspects of a climate-friendly lifestyle. By creating habits and sparking discourse at such an early stage in life for all people in schools, Footprint is shaping the next generation of climate leaders from an early age to take bold and collective action. Especially for those in schools who are underrepresented in the climate sphere yet most affected, Footprint is the key educational tool that allows these groups to take their experience and translate it into hands-on action. Many of these groups often lack the information and the grassroots movements to begin taking action on climate. The app is akin to a direct injection of information and motivation for these communities to have the leading front on climate issues. Secondly, Footprint is the tool that can inspire both schools and corporations to take action on climate. Footprint as an app encourages awareness about climate-vulnerable communities, gives accurate information on our changing climate, and lays out actions both individuals and groups can take. By bringing awareness to companies and changing the culture of those who want to fight climate change, Footprint is an ideal route to inspire companies to appoint people in these groups to positions to fight their issues with climate.