But is there any substance to all the rhetoric and media attention around carbon footprinting, and what does it mean in practice?

CARBON FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS – A WAY OF ASSESSING YOUR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT – IS BEING adopted by more and more businesses worldwide wanting to bring their practices in line with recent weighty scientific studies that indicate that their green house gas emissions are a major cause of global warming with potentially devasting consequences for the global economy and society. This follows the widely acclaimed Stern Review, commissioned last year by the then Bittish prime-minister in waiting, Gordon Brown, which found that early action is more economically efficient than inaction, and that changes are needed immediately.