At Christmas, there is time to calm down and spend time with loved ones. In order to achieve a genuine Christmas spirit, we invest in food, presents, and meeting relatives and friends. But what kind of carbon footprint do our choices create?

According to statistics published by Statistics Finland on December 13th, Finnish Christmas is heavily based on traditions. 69 % of Finns aim to get a Christmas tree, 75 % eat ham at Christmas, and 90 % give Christmas presents. Additionally, Christmas decorations, hyacinths, and poinsettias are purchased, along with kilos of chocolate and litres of red wine. Many also travel during Christmas – some near, and others far away.

The Finnish Christmas food is low-emission

In addition to ham, a lot of root vegetable casseroles, rice porridge, gravlax, and Christmas pastries are eaten. Pork has a significantly smaller carbon footprint than beef. Among Christmas fish, herring and Baltic herring have a smaller carbon footprint compared to, for example, rainbow trout. Casseroles made from domestic potatoes, carrots, and swedes are particularly climate-friendly.

Flour and sugar from the ingredients used in Christmas baking have a small carbon footprint, while dried plums and especially butter have a greater one. Fresh fruits, even if imported, have a relatively small carbon footprint.

At Christmas, a lot of food is eaten, and food is often bought more than enough. The best way to reduce the climate impacts of Christmas food is to avoid food waste, as all discarded food has been produced, transported, stored, and prepared unnecessarily.

The carbon footprint of Christmas presents

According to Statistics Finland, adult Finns aim to spend an average of 333 euros on Christmas presents. Especially in families with children, toys and clothes are purchased. When buying presents, it is worth investing in the quality and longevity of items. It is not advisable to buy anything unnecessary.

Although the carbon footprints of various goods are often assessed using a euro-based emission factor (on average 0.5 kg CO2e/eur), the price of a product may not necessarily reflect its carbon footprint. When assessed with a euro-based emission factor, for example, the carbon footprint of a few-euro garment may seem small compared to a more expensive garment. In reality, the situation is opposite: more attention is probably paid to sustainability issues in the design and production of a more expensive and often higher quality product, resulting in a smaller carbon footprint compared to a cheaper product.

As a present you can give, for example, a gift card to a nice experience or a non-material gift, such as supporting a woman in a developing country with her profession or donating a fruit tree that provides food for people living in poverty-stricken areas while also sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Also, in many Finnish families, especially this Christmas, finances may be tight, and one option is to donate money to low-income families with children.

Especially air travel causes emissions

Often during Christmas, we travel a lot: to relatives’ homes, to cottages, to Lapland, or somewhere warm. Public transportation – especially train – is a low-emission way to travel.

The emissions of electric cars are low because they do not generate emissions during use. In addition, the average emissions from the electricity used in cars are low as currently almost 90 % of Finland’s electricity production comes from renewable energy sources and nuclear power, which do not produce greenhouse gas emissions during the production phase.

Of the modes of transportation, air travel causes the most emissions: for example, if a Finn flies from Helsinki to Phuket, Thailand, and return, the emissions from economy class flights amount to approximately 2,250 kg CO2e, and from business class flights approximately 6,530 kg CO2e. Depending on the class of travel, the emissions from one flight are about 23 % or 66 % of the average annual carbon footprint of a Finnish person.

What is the carbon footprint of Santa Claus’s visit?

Santa Claus’s visit is also an essential part of many people’s Christmas, and Santa Claus manages to visit many homes this Christmas Eve as well. When Santa leaves Korvatunturi, there are many miles to cover before all the children receive their presents. But what if the journey could not be made with Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer, and Santa had to use a train, car, or airplane instead?

We created a playful CO2 calculator that allows you to estimate the carbon footprint generated by Santa Claus’s travels, presents, and the treats offered to Santa. Test the calculator (in Finnish) here.

The Santa Claus’s CO2 calculator is an example of the calculators that can be implemented on the OpenCO2.net platform. The calculator utilizes emission factors included in the OpenCO2.net emissions database, and the calculation is done following the principles of carbon footprint calculation, although there is no separate standard or product category rule for calculating Santa Claus’s carbon footprint 😊.