COMMUTE
by bike
Emissions
10
kg CO2e
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The greenhouse gas emissions only come from the production of the bicycle, and have been calculated based on data on the weight of the bicycle, the materials it is made of, and emission factors for the different materials.
- Bicycle lifespan: 15 years
- Weight of the bicycle: 15 kg
- Commuting distance, one way: 12 km every working day (this value refers to the average commuting distance for trips to/from school/work by car and/or public transport according to a Swedish Travel Survey from 2017)
- Number of working days per year: 235 (5 days per week, 47 working weeks per year)
- Total cycling distance per year: 3 500 km (this distance includes all cycling trips, not just commuting)
- Material composition of the bicycle (percentages of total weight): 20% stainless steel, 80% aluminum.
- Emission factors for the materials that make up the bicycle: stainless steel 4.5 kg CO2e per kg, aluminum 7.3 kg CO2e per kg.
The emissions associated with the production of the bicycle are calculated by multiplying the weight of the constituent materials by the emission factors for the corresponding materials. The emission factors indicate the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted during the extraction and enrichment of 1 kg of material.
Stainless steel: 15 kg × 0.2 × 4.5 kg CO2e per kg stainless steel = 13.5 kg CO2e
Aluminum: 15 kg × 0.8 × 7.3 kg CO2e per kg aluminum = 87.6 kg CO2e
The calculations show that the emissions from the production of stainless steel amount to 13.5 kg CO2e, and the emissions from the production of aluminum amount to 87.6 kg CO2e. This means that a new bicycle has a carbon footprint of 101 kg CO2e (13.5 + 87.6 kg CO2e). This entire amount should not be included in the calculation of commuting emissions, but only a proportion corresponding to the actual commuting distance.
In total, the bicycle travels 52 500 km over its lifetime (3 500 km per year × 15 years). The commuting distance of 5 640 km (235 working days per year × 24 km per day) thus represents 11% of the total distance traveled by the bicycle over its lifetime (5 640 km/52 500 km). An equal share of the emissions from manufacturing is attributed to this distance, that is, 11 kg CO2e (101 kg CO2e × 11%), which has been rounded to 10 kg CO2e on the card.
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