How are climate personas assigned in the employee survey?

What the personas are

At the end of the survey, each respondent is given a persona: a friendly, animal-themed label that reflects how their estimated annual carbon footprint compares to others. The personas run from the lowest footprint (Perfect Panda) to the highest (Dangerous Dog). They are designed to make results relatable and to encourage action, rather than to be a precise scientific classification.

We use two sets of animal personas: one for Australia and one for the rest of the world. The scale itself is identical, the same eight steps from the lowest footprint to the highest, but the animals are swapped so the characters feel more engaging and culturally relevant to each audience. Australian respondents meet familiar local animals like the Possum, Kangaroo, Wombat and Emu, while everyone else sees the global set like the Panda, Kitten, Walrus and Alpaca. Whichever animal someone is given, it represents exactly the same position on the scale. 

How your persona is allocated

There are two steps.

Step 1: Calculate the footprint. The survey converts each answer (household energy, travel, diet, waste, goods and services, and so on) into tonnes of CO2 equivalent, then adds them together to produce a single estimated annual footprint in tonnes of CO2e per year (tCO2e/year).

Step 2: Match the footprint to a persona. The footprint is compared against a set of ranges. Whichever range the footprint falls into determines the persona. For example, in a lower-emission country a footprint of 7 tCO2e/year lands in the Keen Kitten range, while the same 7 tonnes in Australia would land in the Perfect Panda range.

Why the scale varies by country

Average per-person emissions differ a lot between countries, mostly because of how electricity is generated and how people live. If everyone were measured against a single global scale, almost everyone in a high-emitting country would score badly and almost everyone in a low-emitting country would score well, regardless of their personal choices.

To keep the personas meaningful and locally fair, the ranges are adjusted by country. The survey groups countries into three emission bands, and each band has its own set of persona cut-offs. Someone is always compared against a scale that reflects a realistic local baseline.

The country a respondent selects determines which group they come from (see below).

Country groups

Any country not named individually falls into the lower-emitting group.

The persona scale

Australian scale

Global scale

Footprint range per persona

This table shows the footprint range for each persona, in tonnes of CO2e per year, for each country group. Each range runs up to and including the upper number shown; the next persona starts just above it. The Australian persona name is the alternate label used for the same position on the scale.

Disclaimer: The carbon footprint shown by this survey is an estimate. It is calculated from self-reported answers using standard, country-level emission factors and reasonable assumptions, so it is intended as a helpful indication rather than a precise or audited measurement of anyone's actual emissions. The personas are light-hearted characterisations designed to make results relatable and encourage positive action. They are not a judgement of any individual and should not be treated as a formal assessment, score, or benchmark. Results will vary from person to person, and small differences in answers (or rounding close to a range boundary) can move someone between neighbouring personas.