Educlima concluded in January 2026, after two years of research on climate action, with the launch of two tools to measure the care offered to people and the planet: the Inverse Carbon Footprint Calculator and the Positive Social Impact Calculator. Both tools are available on the Educlima website.

An initial phase of the research, conducted by investigators from the Faculty of Education Sciences and the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, showed that “media coverage prioritises decontextualised approaches that make it difficult to understand the phenomenon of climate change and individual responses.” Considering this finding, the Educlima researchers presented a project aimed at “bringing messages closer to people and making citizens’ actions visible.”

Positive Social Impact Calculator (IS+)

The calculators presented make it easy to measure the positive impact of citizens’ actions. “We found tools that measure actions linked to companies or indicators related exclusively to teenagers, but not a calculator that measures an individual’s positive social footprint,” explained Mónica Fernández, a researcher in the Faculty of Education Sciences. The Positive Social Impact Calculator (IS+) assesses actions related to care, cooperation and community engagement, producing a result that measures the potential contribution to the common good. “Recent events such as the COVID crisis or the DANA highlighted the importance of solidarity and individual involvement for the community,” the lecturer explained during the presentation.

Inverse Carbon Footprint Calculator (-CO₂)

The other proposal developed by Educlima is the Inverse Carbon Footprint Calculator. The tool does not measure the CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere, but rather the CO₂ we avoid through our everyday actions and decisions. The online form contains questions about our eating, mobility, leisure and tourism and technology habits, among others. The final report provides an educational estimate of individual emission savings, based on average figures.

Emilio Chuvieco, professor of Geography at the University of Alcalá de Henares and an expert in geological and geomatics engineering, stressed the importance of measuring these actions. “We are faced with a situation of eco-apathy and eco-helplessness; young people feel that the problem is so vast that nothing can be done,” explained the researcher, who opened the session. “This project charts a course for climate mitigation and adaptation and showcases positive examples that can serve to inspire people,” he emphasised.

The project’s principal investigator, Sílvia Albareda, seconded this message. “Catastrophic thinking and a sense of helplessness do not encourage action; we need to change our approach. With this project, we have designed tools that reveal what is normally invisible,” she concluded.

The Educlima project has also yielded a rubric of eco-social competencies for different educational levels as a useful tool for teachers, with contributions from teaching staff members Maite Fuertes, Sílvia Albareda and Frederic Marimón. It also analysed the opportunities, barriers and motivations for climate education in the educational and business sectors, with the collaboration of lecturers Mariona Graell, Marcela Vergara, Mariana Fuentes, Jasmina Berbegal, Alba Manresa and Sílvia Albareda.

The participating universities included Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, University of Alcalá, University of Zaragoza and University of Seville.