The NIHR Carbon Reduction Guidelines

Executive SummaryThe NIHR needs Carbon Reduction GuidelinesThe provision of healthcare, like other sectors of the economy, results in theemission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The NHS has a carbonfootprint of about 21 million tonnes of CO 2 per year, representing around 25%of public sector greenhouse gas emissions. Health research is central to thedelivery of high quality healthcare within the NHS and the research communitymust take appropriate steps to minimise greenhouse gas emissions fromresearch activities. As the leading funder of health research in the NHS, theNational Institute for Health Research (NIHR) must play a role in reducingcarbon emissions from health research. The NIHR Carbon ReductionGuidelines are for researchers conducting research funded by the NIHRoutlining approaches to help reduce carbon emissions from health research.Health research helps patient care and the environmentHigh quality health research ensures that only safe and effective healthcareinterventions are used. By providing unbiased and reliable evidence on thesafety and effectiveness of interventions, high quality health research protectsNHS patients from harm whilst also protecting the global environment fromunnecessary waste. Health research therefore not only plays a key role inpatient care but also helps to protect the environment.The NIHR Carbon Reduction Guidelines are for researchersThe guidelines outline strategies to reduce the carbon emissions from healthresearch. Because most publicly funded health research is conducted in NHShospitals and universities, general institutional strategies to reduce carbonemissions would also reduce the carbon emissions from health research.However, strategies to reduce carbon emissions from buildings and fromtravel to work have been outlined in previous guidance and are notconsidered here.The focus of the guidelines is on how methodological and practical aspects ofhealth research impact on the associated carbon footprint. It has beendeveloped in consultation with clinical researchers and methodologists fromacross the NIHR. The guidelines provide a framework, rather than mandatoryguidance, to identify areas where sensible research design can reduce wastewithout adversely impacting on the validity and reliability of research.Case studies are drawn from clinical trials to provide illustrative examples ofthe principles of good carbon management and sensible clinical study design,but the principles apply to all research funded by the NIHR, not just clinicaltrials.4