Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 on the Carbon Footprint of Two Research Projects: A Comparative Analysis
The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the carbon footprint (CF) of two research projects. These projects were initiated prior to the onset of the pandemic and subsequently concluded afterward, serving as the Base Case (BC) for analysis. Furthermore, the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-08-01
|
| Series: | Atmosphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/9/1365 |
| _version_ | 1797581344098746368 |
|---|---|
| author | Sofia Papadogiannaki Natalia Liora Daphne Parliari Stavros Cheristanidis Anastasia Poupkou Ioannis Sebos Athena Progiou Dimitrios Melas |
| author_facet | Sofia Papadogiannaki Natalia Liora Daphne Parliari Stavros Cheristanidis Anastasia Poupkou Ioannis Sebos Athena Progiou Dimitrios Melas |
| author_sort | Sofia Papadogiannaki |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the carbon footprint (CF) of two research projects. These projects were initiated prior to the onset of the pandemic and subsequently concluded afterward, serving as the Base Case (BC) for analysis. Furthermore, the study seeks to explore the potential applicability of measures implemented during the period of lockdown for future mitigation of CF. The applied methodology, which adheres to the guidelines provided by the GHG Protocol and the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) emission factors, is utilized to examine the CF of the projects under two different scenarios. The first scenario assumes that the projects were implemented without the pandemic, while the second scenario considers that the projects were conducted entirely during the pandemic. Among the two projects under review, one emphasizes innovation and entails a collaboration between academia and business. This project is supported by a limited number of employees, exclusively from domestic partners. The other project is more oriented toward policy-making and involves a larger group of partners from Greece and Italy. Its main priority is dissemination. Carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emissions associated with project activities mainly stem from electricity use, material consumption, project-hosted events, project participation in events, employees commuting, and equipment. Results show that in the first scenario, the projects exhibit a more than 40% increase in CO<sub>2</sub> emissions compared to the BC, while in the second scenario, the implementation of measures such as teleworking, virtual participation in events, and digitization of bureaucratic processes lead to a reduction in emissions by at least 20%. The study suggests that adopting such measures after the COVID-19 pandemic could significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:04:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fd9a42bb4b8341ea8ca9bbd2fc56c3fc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:04:06Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-fd9a42bb4b8341ea8ca9bbd2fc56c3fc2023-11-19T09:30:17ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332023-08-01149136510.3390/atmos14091365Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 on the Carbon Footprint of Two Research Projects: A Comparative AnalysisSofia Papadogiannaki0Natalia Liora1Daphne Parliari2Stavros Cheristanidis3Anastasia Poupkou4Ioannis Sebos5Athena Progiou6Dimitrios Melas7Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, School of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceLaboratory of Atmospheric Physics, School of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceLaboratory of Atmospheric Physics, School of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceLaboratory of Atmospheric Physics, School of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceResearch Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 10680 Athens, GreeceSchool of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, GreeceAXON Enviro-Group Ltd., 11257 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Atmospheric Physics, School of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceThe objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the carbon footprint (CF) of two research projects. These projects were initiated prior to the onset of the pandemic and subsequently concluded afterward, serving as the Base Case (BC) for analysis. Furthermore, the study seeks to explore the potential applicability of measures implemented during the period of lockdown for future mitigation of CF. The applied methodology, which adheres to the guidelines provided by the GHG Protocol and the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) emission factors, is utilized to examine the CF of the projects under two different scenarios. The first scenario assumes that the projects were implemented without the pandemic, while the second scenario considers that the projects were conducted entirely during the pandemic. Among the two projects under review, one emphasizes innovation and entails a collaboration between academia and business. This project is supported by a limited number of employees, exclusively from domestic partners. The other project is more oriented toward policy-making and involves a larger group of partners from Greece and Italy. Its main priority is dissemination. Carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emissions associated with project activities mainly stem from electricity use, material consumption, project-hosted events, project participation in events, employees commuting, and equipment. Results show that in the first scenario, the projects exhibit a more than 40% increase in CO<sub>2</sub> emissions compared to the BC, while in the second scenario, the implementation of measures such as teleworking, virtual participation in events, and digitization of bureaucratic processes lead to a reduction in emissions by at least 20%. The study suggests that adopting such measures after the COVID-19 pandemic could significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/9/1365carbon footprintresearch projectsCO<sub>2</sub> emissionsCOVID-19 pandemiccase scenarios |
| spellingShingle | Sofia Papadogiannaki Natalia Liora Daphne Parliari Stavros Cheristanidis Anastasia Poupkou Ioannis Sebos Athena Progiou Dimitrios Melas Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 on the Carbon Footprint of Two Research Projects: A Comparative Analysis Atmosphere carbon footprint research projects CO<sub>2</sub> emissions COVID-19 pandemic case scenarios |
| title | Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 on the Carbon Footprint of Two Research Projects: A Comparative Analysis |
| title_full | Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 on the Carbon Footprint of Two Research Projects: A Comparative Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 on the Carbon Footprint of Two Research Projects: A Comparative Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 on the Carbon Footprint of Two Research Projects: A Comparative Analysis |
| title_short | Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 on the Carbon Footprint of Two Research Projects: A Comparative Analysis |
| title_sort | evaluating the impact of covid 19 on the carbon footprint of two research projects a comparative analysis |
| topic | carbon footprint research projects CO<sub>2</sub> emissions COVID-19 pandemic case scenarios |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/9/1365 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sofiapapadogiannaki evaluatingtheimpactofcovid19onthecarbonfootprintoftworesearchprojectsacomparativeanalysis AT natalialiora evaluatingtheimpactofcovid19onthecarbonfootprintoftworesearchprojectsacomparativeanalysis AT daphneparliari evaluatingtheimpactofcovid19onthecarbonfootprintoftworesearchprojectsacomparativeanalysis AT stavroscheristanidis evaluatingtheimpactofcovid19onthecarbonfootprintoftworesearchprojectsacomparativeanalysis AT anastasiapoupkou evaluatingtheimpactofcovid19onthecarbonfootprintoftworesearchprojectsacomparativeanalysis AT ioannissebos evaluatingtheimpactofcovid19onthecarbonfootprintoftworesearchprojectsacomparativeanalysis AT athenaprogiou evaluatingtheimpactofcovid19onthecarbonfootprintoftworesearchprojectsacomparativeanalysis AT dimitriosmelas evaluatingtheimpactofcovid19onthecarbonfootprintoftworesearchprojectsacomparativeanalysis |