How much algae are you producing on beaches? Test your footprint with HS’s Baltic Sea calculator

HS’s unique calculator tells you the amount of nutrient load on the Baltic Sea caused by your everyday choices. You can also compare your footprint with that of other Finns.

The Baltic Sea footprint generated by the calculator indicates how much eutrophic and algae-inducing phosphorus and nitrogen ends up in the Baltic Sea due to your actions. The calculator is based on new scientific research conducted by the Finnish Environment Institute and the Natural Resources Institute Finland together with Helsingin Sanomat and the John Nurminen Foundation. You can respond safely as the information you provide will not be stored. Learn more about the calculator here.

Start by providing information about your housing.

Basic information

What is your municipality of residence?

How many people live in the same household?

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • more than 7

Housing

How is the wastewater from your residence treated?

  • Municipal sewage system (most common)
  • Own sewage treatment unit
  • Septic tank
  • Cesspool
  • I don’t know

What type of building is your residence in?

  • Detached house
  • Terraced house
  • Block of flats
  • Other

What size is your residence? (m²)

120

How is your residence heated?

  • District heating
  • Electric heating
  • Oil heating
  • Wood or pellet
Specify your energy use
Energy use is typically of minor importance in terms of nutrient load footprint. However, with the options below, you can estimate your energy consumption according to the energy source. If you do not know the energy consumption of your home, you can go to the next item. In this case, the calculator will evaluate the energy used for heating according to the size of your residence.

Estimated annual energy consumption:

District heating (kWh)

22800

Electricity (kWh)

8900

Oil (kWh)

0

Wood (kWh)

0

Other sources of energy (kWh)

0

What do these values mean?

Here are some examples of how the most common forms of housing and heating consume energy. Electric heated detached or terraced house, standard equipment (120 m², four persons): Electricity usage 18,480 kWh, of which heating is 9,600 kWh Non-electric heated detached house, standard equipment (120 m², four persons): Electricity usage 7,300 kWh, a further 22,800 kWh (190 kWh/m²) is required for heating from other sources of energy Block of flats, standard equipment (70 m², three inhabitants), Electricity 2,400 kWh, heat energy required 16,870 kWh (241 kWh/m2) A cubic metre of birch corresponds to about 1,010 kWh of energy, the equivalent in softwood is 800 kWh. 100 litres of oil corresponds to about 1,000 kWh of energy.

Next, describe your leisure activities. Hobbies that have a pronounced impact on the nutrient emissions in the Baltic Sea have been brought up here. The impact of other hobbies is considered to be insignificant, even though the hobbies may have a big impact on the climate, for example.

Holiday home

Do you have a holiday home? If so, indicate its location here

How many days do you spend at the holiday home in a year?

0

How is its wastewater treated?

  • Municipal sewage system
  • Small sewage treatment unit
  • Septic tank
  • Cesspool
  • Soil filtration
  • Dry closet
  • No treatment

What size is your holiday home? (m²)

35
Click here if your holiday home is kept warm throughout the year

How is your holiday home heated?

  • District heating
  • Direct electric heating
  • Oil heating
  • Wood or pellets
Specify your energy use
You can specify your holiday home energy consumption further according to the energy source. By default, the calculator estimates the energy used for heating according to the square metres you have provided, but you can also enter the consumption by more than one source of energy.

A cubic metre of birch corresponds to about 1010 kWh of energy, the equivalent in softwood is 800 kWh.

Estimated annual energy consumption:

District heating (kWh)

0

Electricity (kWh)

0

Oil (kWh)

0

Wood or pellets (kWh)

0

Other sources of energy (kWh)

0

Hobbies

Do you have any of the following hobbies? Select those that apply.

  • Golf
  • Horse riding
  • Harness racing
  • Fishing

    How much fish do you catch per year?

    Baltic fish (kg)

    0

    Inland fish (kg)

    0

    How much of the catch do you consume as part of your diet? (%)

    0

Finally, describe your eating habits and transportation. Eating habits have a significant impact on the nutrient footprint. If you wish, you can specify the information on foods that are significant in terms of the nitrogen and phosphorus load.

Diet

What is your diet?

  • Omnivore
  • Pescaterian
  • Vegan
  • Fish-oriented

As a substitute for meat, what do you prefer?

  • Domestic plant-based foods
  • Foreign plant-based foods
  • Fish

You can describe your eating habits in greater detail here

Specify your weekly consumption
Estimate your personal weekly consumption with the sliders below.
The default values have been set according to the national average.

Beef (g)

288

Pork (g)

494

Poultry (g)

342

Mutton (g)

10

Reindeer and game (g)

35

Milk and sour milk (l)

3

Yogurt, curdled milk and quark (l)

1

Cream (dl)

1.8

Butter (g)

1.8

Cheese (g)

416

Eggs (pcs)

3

Cultivated fish (g)

90

Wild fish (g)

19

Beer (l)

2

Vegetables (g)

24

Peas (g)

1

Imported beans (g)

2

Broad beans (g)

1

Hemp (g)

0

Nuts (g)

4

Fruit (g)

0

Berries (g)

16

Grains (g)

11

Vegetable oils (g)

1

Fish (g)

0

Tofu

0

Soy (g)

0

Plant milk (g)

0.000000001

Plant-based yogurt, quark (g)

0.000000001

Vegetable fats (g)

0.00000001

Transportation

What is your primary choice of transport?

  • Public transport
  • Private car
  • Other
Specify your transportation information

How many kilometres in total do you travel in a year?

15100

How much do you use public transport?

How many kilometres per year do you travel by bus?

7500

How many kilometres per year do you travel by train, metro and tram?

7500

How much per year do you use a private car?

How many kilometres per year do you travel by petrol car?

0

How many kilometres per year do you travel by diesel car?

0

How many kilometres per year do you travel by gas car?

0

How many kilometres per year do you travel by electric car?

0

How many people on average travel in the same car? (persons/vehicle)

1.7

What is the vehicle’s fuel consumption? (l/100km, kg/100 km or kW/100 km)

6.9

How many kilometres per year do you travel by water transport?

Car ferry

0

Hydrofoil

0

Ferry boats

0

Other motored water vehicle

0
I only use inland water transport

Do you practice small-scale boating?

I practice small-scale boating

What kind of motor does the boat have?

  • 2-stroke
  • 4-stroke

  • Under 20 horsepower
  • Over 20 horsepower

What is the average utilisation rate of the boat? (persons/boat)

1.7

How many hours per year do you use the boat?

0

And how much of that in the Baltic Sea? (%)

0

Heli Saavalainen HS, text
Timo Myllymäki HS, graphic design and programming
Juhani Saarinen HS, production
Esa Mäkinen HS, production
Klaus Welp, illustration
Prof. Jyri Seppälä, SYKE, project leader
Research Scientist Merja Saarinen, Luke, person responsible, Natural Resources Institute Finland
Researcher Joonas Munther, SYKE, calculator design and programming

The following people have participated in the production and modelling of the source data behind the calculator:
Senior Research Scientist Seppo Knuuttila, SYKE
Researcher Olli-Pekka Pietiläinen, SYKE
Senior Research Scientist Juha Grönroos, SYKE
Senior Research Scientist Markus Huttunen, SYKE
Senior Research Scientist Markku Puustinen, SYKE
Leading Expert Jyrki Laitinen, SYKE
Senior Research Scientist Sirkka Tattari, SYKE
Senior Research Scientist Petri Ekholm, SYKE
Research Scientist Frans Silvenius, Luke
Prof. Arto Huuskonen, Luke
Prof. Hilkka Siljander-Rasi, Luke
Research Scientist Petra Tuunainen, Luke
Senior Scientist Markku Saastamoinen, Luke
Principal Scientist Perttu Virkajärvi, Luke

The calculator has been jointly created by the Finnish Environment Institute, the Natural Resources Institute Finland, HS and the John Nurminen Foundation.