About PBCC
The PBCC estimates the average carbon footprint per person for each LSOA in England. LSOAs are small statistical areas with a population of about 1,500 - 3,000. The tool takes a consumption based approach to carbon footprints, this means that the emissions are counted by the consumer of a good or service not the producer. For example if you by a new phone made in China, the emissions from making that phone will be produced in China, but will count towards your carbon footprint in England as you are the consumer.
How are the carbon footprints calculated?
To calculate an exact carbon footprint requires a lot of detailed information on individual behaviours and consumption patterns. Unfortunately, this kind of data does not exist for everybody in England. Instead, this tool draws on the best available data and research for each part of our carbon footprint. When we have detailed local data, we use it, such as for gas and electricity consumption. But for other types of consumption, such as food, we rely on surveys and modelling to fill in the gaps. Together these methods give an overview of the total carbon footprint for an LSOA. We then divided the total footprint by the number of people living in the LSOA to get an average carbon footprint per person. We use this measure as it easy to understand and compare across different areas. But it is important to remember that within an LSOA there may be significant variation from person to person.
For more information on the PBCC please see:
- Recordings of the launch event
- Our GISRUK paper and presentation
- CREDS blog post
- The Frequently Asked Questions page
How do you use PBCC?
The main part of the tool is an interactive map of England. You can pan and zoom around the country and change the data shown on the map using the menu bar on the right of the screen. Clicking on any of the LSOAs shown on the map will bring up a local report card. The report card contains more information on how the carbon footprints were calculated, as well as comparisons with other areas. The report card also gives useful information about contributing factors such as how well insulated homes are or how far the average person drives per year.
Can I download the data and use it in my own projects?
The PBCC is an open source project and you can use the code and data subject to their respective licences. This work is licensed under a GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. For data download and license rules see the data page.
Who created PBCC and how was it funded?
PBCC was produced with funding from UK Research and Innovation through the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions, grant reference number EP/R 035288/1
PBCC was produced with support from:
The Team
Dr Malcolm Morgan, Research Fellow in Transport and Spatial Analysis, University of Leeds.
Malcolm is a specialist in GIS with an interest in low carbon transport and housing.
Professor Jillian Anable, Chair in Transport and Energy, University of Leeds.
Jillian has worked on mobility patterns, local policy evaluation and transport and decarbonisation for over 15 years.
Professor Karen Lucas, Professor of Human Geography, University of Manchester.
Karen has 20 years’ experience of social research in transport and mobilities employing a variety of mixed methods approaches to issues of mobility, accessibility, and social justice.
Mark Valleley, Technical lead, Transport for the South East.
Mark has 30 years’ experience as a transport planner spanning policy and strategy formulation as well as scheme development and delivery.
Steven Bishop, Associate Director, Steer Group.
Steve has 15 years’ experience in transport planning and economic development working across both the private and public sectors.