Carbon Footprint Calculator for Paddy Production using Sustainable Web Design

Abstract

Climate change is one of the major issues that concerned by the global community. Carbon footprint calculation has evolved as one indicator to measure the concentration of the carbon emission release. Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as the result of human activities. This research investigates the usability of the web application to increase the level of awareness towards carbon emission during paddy production. A web application called Paddy Footprint is developed by using two sustainable web design principles which are more sustainable component and user experience and design. Paddy Footprint allows users to calculate the carbon emission release resulting from the paddy production activities such as rice cultivation, fertilizer application, field burning and fuel consumption. Besides, Paddy Footprint also provides the users with information and knowledge on carbon footprint. Usability testing was conducted to evaluate the level of awareness towards environmental sustainability. The evaluation conducted involved thirty participants. From the findings, it has been discovered that through Paddy Footprint, users can calculate and display the carbon footprint for each activity. It also enhances the knowledge of participants on carbon footprint, which can encourage them to create a small step in reducing it.