The carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases emitted by a human activity or accumulated over the full life cycle of a product or service. A manufacturing process or lighting installation will always have a carbon footprint.

FW Thorpe calculated that each luminaire indirectly creates an average of 6.986 kilograms of CO2 during its production and marketing to the point where it leaves the factory and is delivered on a company vehicle.

No matter how efficient the luminaire, and how effective the control system, a lighting installation still requires some electricity to operate. A 400 watt luminaire, for example, may create up to 41 tonnes of CO2 due to the electricity used during its 20 year life. That is around 6,000 times the amount created during its production! A 250 watt metal halide garage forecourt floodlight operated on a 24 hour cycle will consume 2,500kWh hours of electricity and indirectly produce 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per annum. FW Thorpe, being aware of its environmental responsibilities, has designed an in-house carbon offsetting scheme to enable the company itself and its customers to offset their carbon footprints.