Introducing the Resources and Energy Analysis Programme (REAP)

This working paper introduces the Resources and Energy Analysis Programme (REAP), an input-output-based software tool developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) to calculate environmental pressures associated with consumption activities, primarily within the United Kingdom.

• The REAP model is an input-output-based software tool that calculates environmental pressures from consumption, utilizing an environmentally extended input-output model that distinguishes between products produced in the UK and those imported from the 'rest of the world'. It covers 178 individual sectors and calculates impacts for 356 product groups and over 50 consumption categories.
• REAP uses a scenario editor based on the IPAT formula (Environmental Impact = Population * Affluence * Technology), allowing users to alter over 200 variables across three main determinants: population size and household numbers, consumption patterns (including expenditure on imports, energy use, and travel behaviour), and technology (specifically energy mix and industrial energy demand).
• A 2008 report by SEI and the University of Sydney for the UK Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) found that UK consumer emissions were consistently higher than producer emissions. In 2004, consumer emissions were approximately 730Mt CO2, which was 20 per cent higher than producer emissions.
• SEI has expanded the REAP methodology into a family of models targeting specific sectors. This includes tools for the UK education sector and the National Health Service (NHS), the latter of which revealed that 60 per cent of its emissions are linked to the manufacture and transportation of purchased goods and services.
• The REAP framework has been applied to create public-facing tools, such as a WWF footprint calculator launched in 2007 that has been used 250,000 times, and REAP Tourism, developed with South West Tourism to calculate the environmental footprint of visitors in the UK.
• In a case study in the Tees Valley, North East England, a 'Business as Usual' scenario projected a 1.8 per cent increase in CO2 emissions from household fuel and electricity over 20 years, which equates to a 5.5 per cent increase per person due to projected population decline. Alternative scenarios developed in workshops suggested that practical measures could reduce the housing carbon footprint by at least 10 per cent over the same period.
• Since its February 2006 launch, REAP has been used in over 100 projects and provided to 20 local authority partners. Future developments include expanding the model to all EU-27 members via the One Planet Economy Network, as well as creating sub-national versions for Sweden and the Basque Country in Spain.

APA

Paul, A., Wiedmann, T., Barrett, J., Minx, J., Scott, K., Dawkins, E., Owen, A., Briggs, J., & Gray, I. (2010). Introducing the Resources and Energy Analysis Programme (REAP). Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/introducing_reap_100216_web.pdf

Chicago

Paul, Alistair, Thomas Wiedmann, John Barrett, Jan Minx, Kate Scott, Elena Dawkins, Anne Owen, Julian Briggs, and Ian Gray. Introducing the Resources and Energy Analysis Programme (REAP). Stockholm Environment Institute, 2010. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/introducing_reap_100216_web.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{paul2010introducing, author = {Paul, Alistair and Wiedmann, Thomas and Barrett, John and Minx, Jan and Scott, Kate and Dawkins, Elena and Owen, Anne and Briggs, Julian and Gray, Ian}, title = {{Introducing the Resources and Energy Analysis Programme (REAP)}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2010}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/introducing_reap_100216_web.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }