@article{fdi:010093314,
  title = {{P}urchases dominate the carbon footprint of research laboratories},
  author = {{D}e {P}aepe, {M}. and {J}eanneau, {L}. and {M}ariette, {J}. and {A}umont, {O}livier and {E}stevez-{T}orres, {A}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{D}espite increasing interest for the carbon footprint of higher education institutions, little is known about the carbon footprint associated to research activities. {A}ir travel and attendance to conferences concentrate recent data and debates but purchases have attracted little attention. {H}ere we develop a hybrid method to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions ({GHG}) associated to research purchases. {T}o do so, we combine macroeconomic databases, research-centered companies footprints and life-cycle assessments to construct a public database of monetary emission factors ({EF}) for research purchases. {W}e apply it to estimate the purchases emissions of a hundred of research laboratories in {F}rance, belonging to the {L}abos 1point5 network and gathering more than 20000 staff, from all disciplines. {W}e find that purchases dominate laboratory emissions, accounting for more than 50% of emissions, with a median of 2.7 t {CO}2 e/pers, which is 3 to 4-fold the separate contribution from travel, commutes and heating. {M}edian electricity emissions are 5-fold lower in our dataset of laboratories using low carbon electricity but they become preponderant for high carbon electricity mixes (3.5 t {CO}2 e/pers). {P}urchases emissions are very heterogeneous among laboratories and are linearly correlated with budget, with an average carbon intensity of 0.31 ± 0.07 kg {CO}2 e/€ and differences between research domains. {F}inally, we quantify the effect of a series of demand-driven mitigation strategies obtaining up to ?20% in total emissions (?40% in purchases emissions), suggesting that effectively reducing the carbon footprint of research activities calls for systemic changes.},
  keywords = {{FRANCE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}lo{S} {S}ustainability and {T}ransformation},
  volume = {3},
  numero = {7},
  pages = {e0000116 [17 ]},
  ISSN = {2767-3197},
  year = {2024},
  DOI = {10.1371/journal.pstr.0000116},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010093314},
}