{"query_echo":{"q":"","filters":{"analysis_type":["carbon footprinting"]},"warnings":[{"code":"facet_value_not_in_vocabulary","message":"Value 'carbon footprinting' for facet 'analysis_type' is not in the controlled vocabulary."}]},"total":{"value":2,"relation":"eq"},"page":1,"page_size":20,"self":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/api/v1/search?analysis_type=carbon+footprinting","stability":"beta","ai_marking":{"digital_source_type":{"uri":"http://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/trainedAlgorithmicMedia","name":"Created using Generative AI"},"notice":"Summary and key insights are generated using artificial intelligence."},"results":[{"id":"iisd-002309","url":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/document/iisd-002309","title":"University Data Centres: Policy and business case for reducing greenhouse gas emissions","publisher":{"name":"International Institute for Sustainable Development","organization":"international-institute-for-sustainable-development"},"document_type":"report","language":"en","date_published":"2010-09","source_url":"https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/university_data_centres.pdf","generator":"Climate Insights Directory","generated_fields":["summary","key_insights","climate_tags","geography_discussed","analysis_type"],"summary":{"text":"The study examines three scenarios for greening data centres at Dalhousie University, the University of Ottawa, and the University of Alberta. It finds that relocating to remote renewable sites (Scenario 1) or urban low-emission grids (Scenario 2) is economically unviable due to high capital costs. Only on-site waste heat recovery (Scenario 3) showed a positive net present value for one institution. The report suggests a 'green community cloud' managed by CANARIE as a more viable alternative to individual university efforts.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"iisd-002309#summary","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},"key_insights":[{"text":"Relocating data centres to remote, zero-carbon facilities (Scenario 1) is financially unattractive, with negative net present values (NPVs) for all three universities: $(8,535,093) for Ottawa, $(6,968,567) for Dalhousie, and $(8,448,132) for Alberta.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"iisd-002309#insight-1","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Relocating data centres to urban settings in provinces with low-emission grids and waste heat utilization (Scenario 2) also resulted in negative NPVs, ranging from $(2,682,716) for Dalhousie to $(3,616,477) for Alberta.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"iisd-002309#insight-2","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Modifying existing data centres to capture and utilize waste heat (Scenario 3) was the most economically attractive option, producing a positive NPV of $189,579 for the University of Alberta, though results remained negative for Ottawa and Dalhousie.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"iisd-002309#insight-3","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Revenue from the sale of carbon credits is generally insufficient to offset the high capital and operating costs of relocating university data centres to remote renewable locations.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"iisd-002309#insight-4","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The report proposes a 'green community cloud'—a shared data centre infrastructure operated by CANARIE in a low-emission province—as a more economically beneficial alternative that leverages economies of scale and virtualization.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"iisd-002309#insight-5","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"A proposed community cloud for the three studied universities in an urban location like Montréal would cost approximately $21,000,000 to construct and set up, with estimated annual operating costs of $2,900,000.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"iisd-002309#insight-6","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The study identifies significant barriers to remote relocation, including concerns over data security, the management of remote sites, and the fact that many university ICT assets are fragmented across various departments.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"iisd-002309#insight-7","date_modified":"2026-10-23"}],"climate_tags":["data center","greenhouse gas emissions","carbon offset","renewable energy","hydroelectricity","waste heat recovery","cloud computing","carbon emission trading","emission trading","energy efficiency"],"geography_discussed":["University of Ottawa","Dalhousie University","University of Alberta","Montreal","United States","Ontario","Quebec","British Columbia","Manitoba"],"frame_perspective":[],"analysis_type":["economic feasibility analysis","carbon footprinting","policy review"]},{"id":"sei-001361","url":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/document/sei-001361","title":"Green Streets","publisher":{"name":"Stockholm Environment Institute","organization":"stockholm-environment-institute"},"document_type":"report","language":"en","date_published":"2009-10","source_url":"https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Rethinking-development/Sustainable_consumption_and_production/FinalGreenStreetsReportOct2009.pdf","generator":"Climate Insights Directory","generated_fields":["summary","key_insights","climate_tags","geography_discussed","analysis_type"],"summary":{"text":"The study finds that the average York resident has a carbon footprint of 12.58 tonnes of CO2 per year, with housing and transport accounting for 60% of this total. Analysis of Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) reveals significant variation: the highest footprints are found in city centre, rural, and commuter areas, while the lowest are in disadvantaged urban areas or student-heavy neighbourhoods. The report identifies a gap between green attitudes and actual behaviour, noting that some neighbourhoods with strong green attitudes still maintain high footprints. By combining data on emissions, resident attitudes, and local infrastructure, the report identifies specific neighbourhoods with the 'highest potential' for change. For housing, these include Heworth Without Rural and South Bank Central; for transport, the Holgate and Osbaldwick areas are highlighted. The findings support the 'York Green Streets Challenge', a project targeting 100 households to achieve a 10% reduction in their carbon footprint in 2010.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-001361#summary","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},"key_insights":[{"text":"The average carbon footprint for a resident of York is 12.58 tonnes of CO2 per year, which is slightly higher than the UK average of 12.12 tonnes and the Yorkshire and Humber average of 12.21 tonnes.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-001361#insight-1","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Housing and transport are the primary drivers of York's carbon footprint, together representing nearly 60% of the total.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-001361#insight-2","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Carbon footprints vary by neighbourhood: Dringhouses Central has the highest average footprint at 14.51 tonnes of CO2 per person, while Heslington has the lowest at 9.01 tonnes.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-001361#insight-3","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"There is a correlation between geography and footprint size, where the highest footprints are typically in the city centre, rural, or commuter areas, and the lowest are in disadvantaged urban areas or those with many students.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-001361#insight-4","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"A gap exists between environmental attitudes and behaviour; neighbourhoods with strong green attitudes often still have large carbon footprints, with Heslington being the only exception that has both a strong green attitude and a low footprint.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-001361#insight-5","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The neighbourhoods identified as having the greatest potential to reduce their housing carbon footprint are Heworth Without Rural, South Bank Central, Heworth West, Heworth North, Westfield North West, and Huntington Far South.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-001361#insight-6","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The neighbourhoods with the highest potential to reduce their transport carbon footprint are Holgate North West, Holgate East, Holgate South East, and Osbaldwick.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-001361#insight-7","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Local infrastructure, such as inadequate loft insulation or distance to services, acts as a barrier to green lifestyles. For example, Westfield North West, Woodthorpe South, Minster, and Bishophill have the highest proportions of homes with inadequate loft insulation.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-001361#insight-8","date_modified":"2026-10-23"}],"climate_tags":["carbon footprint","building performance","sustainable transport","climate change adaptation","urban planning","greenhouse gas emissions"],"geography_discussed":["Yorkshire and the Humber","United Kingdom"],"frame_perspective":[],"analysis_type":["carbon footprinting","socio-economic analysis","spatial analysis"]}]}