REAP
The Stockholm Environment Institute, in collaboration with the Centre for Urban and Regional Ecology (Manchester University) and Cambridge Econometrics is currently developing the Resource and Energy Analysis Program (REAP) – an integrated resource-environment modelling tool based on policy scenarios.
REAP considers consumption by households and public as well as commercial services, wherever the consumed products may come from and wherever environmental impacts may occur - "consumer responsibility".
Material Flow Analysis, as the basic methodology, provides a comprehensive picture of apparent and hidden flows of materials and energy carriers through the economy, thus providing a comprehensive physical account of the UK. The associated key environmental impacts can be expressed by calculating the corresponding greenhouse gas emissions and ecological footprints.
The main data sources for REAP are PRODCOM, detailed trade data and expenditure statistics. Final consumption patterns follow both SIC and the COICOP classification and are organised around key policy components such as:
- Food
- Energy
- Housing
- Infrastructure
- Consumer goods
- Transport; and
- Waste
Spatial disaggregation of national data is possible down to the local authority level. For in depth reports on REAP, please visit the download centre.
The REAP Scenario manager
The REAP Scenario Manager is designed as a policy analysis tool for decision-makers at the regional and local level and is used to describe individual policy measures and to combine these into integrated scenarios that capture their interactions. The Scenario Manager enables the creation of a wide range of scenarios for developing comprehensive strategies and assessing the sensitivity of results to uncertainty in key variables.
How can REAP be used?
REAP will allow the user to explore a number of important issues related to the sustainable consumption and production debate including:
- Understanding resource consumption by industrial sectors, while being able to take into account issues of burden shifting
- Providing valuable information concerning the resource productivity of UK industry
- Allowing the user to explore whether decoupling between the economy and environment is occurring
- Identifying and comparing the impact of various industrial sectors and products
- Adopting a holistic view of products identifying the environmental impact of supply chains
- Providing a different perspective of CO2 emissions by adopting the consumer principle rather than the territorial principle adopted by the UN Framework
- Convention on Climate Change
- Allowing the construction of detailed scenarios based on changes in technology, policies, markets and consumption
- Supporting regional and local decision-makers by providing relevant information for sustainability strategies
- Providing information to help communicate sustainable consumption and production issues for businesses and the general public.
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Reap Report
Copies of reports outlining various applications of REAP can be found in the Download section.
REAP was developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute, with support from the Biffaward Mass Balance programme.
