Can you translate that into layman's terms? EPA updates emissions equivalency calculator

One of the most challenging aspects of any green technology or sustainability program is figuring out how to translate something you've done into a sound bite that is meaningful to all the people who would care -- from shareholders to employees to customers.

In the case of switching to alternative energy, or green power as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency likes to call it, the EPA has updated an equivalency calculator you can use to translate the impact of your green power purchase into a statement the general public can relate to. For example, if you've managed to cut your carbon emissions by 15 percent by going solar, what's the equivalent number of cars you have effectively taken off the road. (That seems to the example that most businesses use the most, I guess because Americans are so closely associated with their automobiles.)

The updated equivalency calculator can be found at this link.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com