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Calculator for the CO₂ Reduction of Cork

Determine the carbon dioxide consumption of a certain amount of cork. Cork is one of the very best materials for permanently binding carbon dioxide. On the one hand, cork oaks bind CO₂ better than most tree species, and on the other hand, unlike wood harvesting, the tree is not felled when cork is harvested and is preserved. Cork oaks can live up to 200 years. The cork can be harvested about every 8 years and then this does not harm the tree.

The binding factor indicates how much carbon dioxide is absorbed from the air to produce the cork. It is about 2, so to produce one kilogram of cork, 2 kilograms of CO₂ are removed from the atmosphere. The production factor indicates the CO₂ emitted during the production and logistics of cork products. This factor depends on the working and transport conditions and therefore changes over time. In older figures, the value is sometimes given as 1.6; in 2025, it is around 0.5. The total factor is the binding factor minus the production factor. The CO₂ reduction is then calculated from the amount of material (amount of cork produced) times the total factor.

Bindung factor CO2:
Production factor CO2:
Total factor:
Amount of material:	gkgt
CO2 reduction:	gkgt

Examples: for a wine cork weighing 8 grams, 12 grams of carbon dioxide are bound. However, this only lasts as long as the wine cork exists. A cork trivet weighing 150 grams, which is unlikely to end up in the trash so quickly, therefore binds 225 grams of CO₂ in the long term.

Cork is a material with outstanding properties for many applications. It is soft, robust, non-toxic and very heat and fire resistant. Cork is a very poor conductor of heat and is therefore ideal for insulation. Hence the above-mentioned use for trivets, on which you can also put hot pots. In addition to the most well-known uses as bottle corks and pin boards, cork is a very good and comfortable floor covering for living space, under certain conditions also for wet rooms. Cork panels are also very suitable for insulating buildings. Cork-coated handles feel good in the hand. High-quality cork can even be processed like leather.
Although its use as bottle corks is declining, many new areas are emerging in which cork can be used sensibly and advantageously and where it is not thrown away so quickly, meaning that carbon dioxide is bound for longer.

In fact, the cork oak developed the cork bark as protection against fire; there are no wildfires in cork oak forests. Cork oak forests are extremely rich in species and are internationally recognized as a biodiversity hotspot. Even if they are used for agriculture, this use is so extensive that the habitat for wild animals and plants is hardly affected. Cork is therefore one of the materials whose use can have the most positive impact on the environment and the climate.
Most cork oaks are found in Portugal and neighboring Spain, but are grown throughout the western Mediterranean, as well as in the southwest of the USA, in India and in the warmer regions of the Caucasus. The cork oak needs a lot of light and warmth. Due to advancing climate change and the resulting rising temperatures and increasing risk of wildfires, the cork oak is a tree for the future in the warmer regions of the earth.

Here you can convert metric units into customary and imperial units.

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