Novo Verde, packaging waste management company, and ERP Portugal, waste management company for electrical and electronic equipment, presented last July 7, the carbon footprint calculator for pilgrims, at the headquarters of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for World Youth Day (WYD) Lisbon 2023.

The tool covers the activities carried out by pilgrims from the point of origin until the last day of the largest gathering of young people from around the world with the Pope. Through the WYD Lisbon 2023 App, young people will be able to know their estimated footprint.

One of the main goals of the World Youth Day Lisbon 2023 is that the meeting becomes a reference regarding the commitment to sustainability and leaving a lasting and positive legacy in the territory. The carbon calculator comes in response to this concern, also based on the pillar of Pope Francis' Encyclical Laudato Si', which calls for the care of our common home.

To calculate the carbon footprint, each pilgrim will have to answer questionnaires and, at the end of the meeting, they will be able to find out the result. The first questionnaire will have four indicators: travel, stay, mobility and resources. Here, each pilgrim will be asked where they have come from and how they came to be part of the biggest meeting of young people from all over the world with the Pope. Regarding stay, the questions will be related to the number and days that the pilgrim will be part of World Youth Day, as well as food and accommodation. The third indicator relates to the way in which the pilgrim will move around during the week of the WYD itself. In the last parameter is realated tothe food kit, the type of drinks consumed, the diet of each one, the duration and type of baths will be taken into account when asking the questions.

A second questionnaire is focused on the actions of pilgrims during the WYD Lisbon 2023 and the attitudes they will adopt to mitigate the impact of their actions. The calculation of the pilgrim's estimated carbon footprint will be carried out according to the days of the WYD.

The application will also have available a manual support for the pilgrims’ carbon footprint calculator, where it will be explained how the calculation is carried out, which questionnaires have to be answered, how the pilgrim can reduce the carbon footprint and how the personal part of each one will appear.

Both entities have built this document, which gives the pilgrim the power to learn and reduce the impact of their actions, in order to increase environmental awareness and adopt more sustainable practices. The manual will be also available on the websites of the entities, so that impact mitigation does not end after WYD Lisbon 2023.

At the end of the presentation, Carmen Lima, representative of the Dialogue and Proximity Office at the COL left a message to ERP Portugal and Novo Verde. "I would like, on behalf of WYD, to thank this offer that ERP and Novo verde have made to us. This may seem like a small thing, but it is a tool that has great importance for us as a Church that is organizing a world meeting of young people," she remarked.