Identifying resource productivity for five key economic sectors in the South West region

The study uses the Triple Bottom Line (BL3) software tool to analyze the environmental pressures of the Transport Equipment, Motor Vehicle, Hotels and Catering, Food and Drink, and Business Services sectors in South West England. It finds that for all five sectors, the largest source of CO2 emissions is associated with direct on-site operations. The Food and Drink sector has the highest overall emissions, while the Motor Vehicle sector is the most efficient per £ spent compared to UK averages. The report highlights that efficiency gains in industrial sectors could be outweighed by increased final demand for resources driven by regional growth and infrastructure projects.

• Across all five analyzed sectors, the primary source of CO2 emissions is linked to direct on-site operations of services and manufacturing. For indirect emissions, most are produced by the sectors' direct suppliers.
• The SW Food and Drink sector recorded the highest total CO2 emissions among the five sectors, followed by Business Services, Transport Equipment manufacture, Motor Vehicle production, and Hotels and Catering services.
• When measured by impact intensities per £ spent, the SW Motor Vehicle production sector was the most efficient relative to the UK average, while Business Services were the least efficient.
• In terms of CO2 emitted per £m of Gross Value Added (GVA), the SW Motor Vehicle manufacture sector was the least efficient compared to the UK average, exceeding it by 185%.
• For the SW Transport Equipment sector, 87% of on-site emissions are attributed to electricity use specifically for aerospace equipment manufacturing.
• The SW Hotels and Catering sector's ecological footprint is heavily influenced by the fishing industry, which accounts for approximately 60% of the total footprint, likely due to regional seafood preferences.
• Methane and nitrous oxide emissions in the Hotels and Catering and Food and Drink sectors are almost entirely indirect, originating from agricultural livestock production.
• The SW Business Services sector's carbon footprint is primarily driven by on-site electricity consumption (71% of direct emissions), road transport, and electricity production.
• The report warns that regional efficiency gains may be negated by projected population growth (800,000 people by 2026) and infrastructure projects like motorway extensions and Bristol airport expansion, which lack CO2 reduction targets.

APA

Frey, S., & Wiedmann, T. (2008). Identifying resource productivity for five key economic sectors in the South West region. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Future/identifying_resource_productivity_southwest_region.pdf

Chicago

Frey, Sibylle, and Thomas Wiedmann. Identifying resource productivity for five key economic sectors in the South West region. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2008. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Future/identifying_resource_productivity_southwest_region.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Frey |first1=Sibylle |last2=Wiedmann |first2=Thomas |title=Identifying resource productivity for five key economic sectors in the South West region |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2008 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Future/identifying_resource_productivity_southwest_region.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{frey2008identifying, author = {Frey, Sibylle and Wiedmann, Thomas}, title = {{Identifying resource productivity for five key economic sectors in the South West region}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2008}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Future/identifying_resource_productivity_southwest_region.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }