The Natural Marketing Institute tracks public familiarity with carbon footprinting. They found awareness of the term has been growing rapidly; in 2008, 57% of the general public claimed familiarity with the term, compared with only 38% in 2007. A growing number of organizations also track and report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to a 2008 study by KPMG, more than 80 percent of the “Global 250” corporations are tracking GHG emissions.

A number of online carbon calculators, GHG accounting tools, and reporting methods can be used to track emissions. Here are a few of the better known and well-established ones:

• Greenhouse Gas Protocol – a multi-stakeholder partnership providing standard accounting procedures, supporting data, and calculation tools. This is the most widely used international accounting tool for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions and serves as the basis for the most widely accepted standards for reporting emissions data.
• The Climate Registry - the North American standard for reporting GHG inventories. It also prepares companies for GHG reporting and reduction regulations like California’s AB 32 legislation.  It is a collaborative effort between more than 40 states, provinces and tribes in the United States, Canada, and Mexico to develop and manage a common and unified GHG emissions reporting system.  You can view the Grand Targhee Resort’s (located in Alta, Wyoming) Climate Registry emissions report on The Climate Registry site.
• OpenEco – a web application and online community for reporting, analyzing, and comparing GHG emissions.