The term Carbon Thumprint has been coined to refer to the CO2-e impact of an individual product, service, or discrete action; while a carbon footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.
Methodologies for labelling the carbon thumprint of specific products have been developed by organisations such as the Carbon Trust (UK) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan), and there are moves by the International Standards Organisation to release an international standard to calculate the whole of life Carbon Thumprint of discrete products and services.
CobaltBlu and CommunityCarbon have employed this phrase in in Australia as part of education and communication messages intended to ensure consumers understand the carbon cost of their actions and purchases.