The carbon footprint describes the amount of CO₂ emissions caused by the lifestyle of a person in a given period of time. The larger the carbon footprint, the more CO₂ enters the atmosphere. As the greenhouse gas CO₂ has a strong influence on global warming, the carbon footprint provides information on the climate impact of human activities. A large part of the CO₂ emissions derive from energy production, agriculture, transport and industry.

The mitigation potential of CO₂ is particularly high in energy-intensive industrial sectors such as textile finishing or die casting, as the production exhaust air often contains process waste heat. This process waste heat is a valuable resource that can be used in following production steps or to heat the production hall and other buildings. KMA’s environmental technology combines industrial exhaust air purification with heat recovery. This way, KMA heat recovery systems improve the energy efficiency for the entire production plant and reduce in the carbon footprint of the final customer.

The carbon footprint is part of the ecological footprint and currently accounts for more than half of the ecological footprint.