Abstract
BackgroundAll sectors of the economy, including the health research sector, must reduce their carbon emissions. The UK National Institute for Health Research has recently prepared guidelines on how to minimize the carbon footprint of research. We compare the carbon emissions from two international clinical trials in order to identify where emissions reductions can be made.MethodsWe conducted a carbon audit of two clinical trials (the CRASH-1 and CRASH-2 trials), quantifying the carbon dioxide emissions produced over a one-year audit period. Carbon emissions arising from the coordination centre, freight delivery, trial-related travel and commuting were calculated and compared.ResultsThe total emissions in carbon dioxide equivalents during the one-year audit period were 181.3 tonnes for CRASH-1 and 108.2 tonnes for CRASH-2. In total, CRASH-1 emitted 924.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents compared with 508.5 tonnes for CRASH-2. The CRASH-1 trial recruited 10,008 patients over 5.1 years, corresponding to 92 kg of carbon dioxide per randomized patient. The CRASH-2 trial recruited 20,211 patients over 4.7 years, corresponding to 25 kg of carbon dioxide per randomized patient. The largest contributor to emissions in CRASH-1 was freight delivery of trial materials (86.0 tonnes, 48% of total emissions), whereas the largest contributor in CRASH-2 was energy use by the trial coordination centre (54.6 tonnes, 30% of total emissions).ConclusionsFaster patient recruitment in the CRASH-2 trial largely accounted for its greatly increased carbon efficiency in terms of emissions per randomized patient. Lighter trial materials and web-based data entry also contributed to the overall lower carbon emissions in CRASH-2 as compared to CRASH-1.Trial Registration NumbersCRASH-1: ISRCTN74459797CRASH-2: ISRCTN86750102
Highlights
All sectors of the economy, including the health research sector, must reduce their carbon emissions
Assuming the audit year is representative of total trial emissions, CRASH-1 was responsible for 924.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents and CRASH-2 for 508.5 tonnes
In CRASH-1 this would be equivalent to 681 round trip flights from London to New York for one passenger, Table 4 Summary of Greenhouse Gas emissions by trial activity for the CRASH-1 and CRASH-2 trials
Summary
All sectors of the economy, including the health research sector, must reduce their carbon emissions. The UK National Institute for Health Research has recently prepared guidelines on how to minimize the carbon footprint of research. In November 2008, England became the first country in the world to establish a legally binding agreement to reduce carbon emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050 [1]. This requires action to be taken by all sectors of the economy, including the health and health research sectors. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Universities that conduct NIHR funded research are required to reduce their carbon footprint. The CRASH-2 trial (May 2005- February 2010) examined the effect of tranexamic acid administration in bleeding
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