Everyday habits
Prevent food and material waste, reuse more, buy carefully, and build repeatable routines.
Guide Goals
What the guide could add up to.
See how everyday habits, home efficiency, and clean power build on one another - from one participating household to wider action.
Start here
Three steps. One cumulative path.
Each step includes the work before it. The numbers are annual planning estimates for one participating household after the actions are put in place and kept.
1 Everyday habits
1 + 2 Add home efficiency
1 + 2 + 3 Add clean power
The simple version
The effect grows as the household path gets deeper.
These base estimates show the middle of the planning range. Every household will be different.
Add home efficiency
Keep the first step, then add weatherization, water-heating, and equipment improvements.
Add clean power
Keep the earlier work, then add solar or cleaner electricity after avoidable energy waste is reduced.
How it builds
Later steps include the earlier ones.
The 4.0-ton estimate is the combined path through Section 3. It is not a separate 4.0 tons added on top of the first two numbers.
Section 1
0.6
Sections 1 + 2
1.5
Sections 1 + 2 + 3
4.0
Keep the numbers in perspective: this is scenario math, not a
promise. Results depend on the home, climate, electricity mix,
starting behavior, access to upgrades, and how consistently the
changes are maintained.
When the path spreads
The same household steps become meaningful at scale.
The cards below show the combined Sections 1 + 2 + 3 base scenario at four participation levels.
View all three paths at each participation level The deeper comparison is here when you want it. Open tableClose table
| Participating households | Section 1 | Sections 1 + 2 | Sections 1 + 2 + 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100,000 | 0.06 MMT | 0.15 MMT | 0.40 MMT |
| 1 million | 0.60 MMT | 1.50 MMT | 4.00 MMT |
| 10 million | 6.00 MMT | 15.00 MMT | 40.00 MMT |
| 100 million | 60.00 MMT | 150.00 MMT | 400.00 MMT |
MMT means million metric tons. Participation levels are scale examples, not forecasts.
What the numbers mean
Enough detail to understand the model.
One household
Efficiency and clean-power choices are shared home systems, so the model counts one participating household as one unit.
tCO2e
Metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. It combines different climate-warming gases into one comparable unit.
Base estimate
A central planning value used to show scale. It is not a guarantee for every household.
Sources and calculation notes Open the evidence behind the planning estimates. View sourcesHide sources
Values are rounded ACC scenarios assembled from government evidence. They are not quotations from one source.
EPA WARM: organic materialsFood prevention and compost factors.
EPA WARM: materialsSource reduction and recycling factors.
U.S. Department of EnergyWeatherization and efficiency findings.
U.S. Energy Information AdministrationAverage household electricity use.
EPA equivalencies calculationsElectricity and emissions comparison factors.
Make it practical
Start with the next useful action.
Use the Guide to understand each step, then use the Companion to work through it at your own pace.