ModCell is a novel and innovative building system that brings the benefit of straw bale construction - exceptional levels of insulation - into the mainstream of the construction industry. Carbon Visuals was asked to provide images to show the sequestered carbon dioxide in panels and in a recently completed project - a school science centre in Bath.
The Building Confidence Project emerged from an energy 'data-jam' at the Google offices in New York to which Carbon Visuals was invited. It was organised by the White House to generate new approaches to energy efficiency.
The project idea, facilitated by Honest Buildings, was to create a database of energy efficiency projects that can inspire and facilitate similar initiatives elsewhere. Carbon Visuals' role was to consider the role data-graphics could play in reaching wider audiences.
Barts Health NHS Trust was formed in 2012. It is the largest in the country with multiple sites and major projects planned and underway. For presentation of the Estate Strategy we created 3D models and a map=based animation that showed, in simplified form, development and other planned changes over a five-year period, together with data for water, gas and electricity usage.
We also provided a set of images for use in other presentation formats and media.
Carbon Visuals was commissioned by UCLH (University College London Hospital), to create a set of images and a short animated film depicting the carbon footprint of all London's hospitals and NHS Trusts.
The visuals are used in conferences and workshops where facilities and energy personnel, as well as a wide range of other stakeholders, can get a better understanding of actual emissions, emissions reductions and the differences between different hospitals.
Carbon Visuals was invited to provide a set of images to illustrate the daily and annual carbon footprint of greenhouse gas emissions from selected buildings on the University of Plymouth campus.
The purpose of the project was to support carbon and energy-reduction activities by staff from the Estates Department. In addition the University is planning research to determine the effectiveness of this kind of communication with students, academics and staff.
CLIENT
BBC
PURPOSE
To illustrate the emissions resulting from TV production for an industry conference at White City.
DESCRIPTION
Animation that shows the real-time emissions associated with making one hour of broadcast ready production, and image set.
The television industry is taking steps towards addressing sustainability issues associated with TV productions. A key tool, created by the BBC and made available through a partnership with BAFTA, is Albert - a bespoke carbon calculator.
Carbon Visuals was commissioned by the BBC to produce a set of images and a real-time animation showing the emissions resulting from one hour of TV programming. The data was provided by about 80 productions that were the first to use the Albert calculator at the BBC.
This animation was created for the BBC and shows the real-time emissions associated with making one hour of broadcast ready production - equivalent to about 8.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Average emissions associated with the major stages of a production are here shown in order of size and as a whole, depicted in front of the BBC White City building.
These visuals were first shown at an industry conference, which took place in the iconic BBC White City building that is depicted here, on 3rd November 2011.
The PDF illustrates the emissions of different parts of the production process.
Albert was developed & trialed within the BBC in 2011, with production managers and coordinators providing data on about 80 programmes. While there were considerable variations between productions, the average (mean) rate - about 8.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hour - provides a first attempt at establishing a figure against which programme makers will be able to gauge progress in future.
Annually within the BBC, about 3,800 hours of TV are produced in-house. An annual volume of emissions, based on the average rate per production hour for programme emissions calculated using Albert, is here shown with familiar BBC buildings in Salford and London for scale.
The average (mean) rate of emissions associated with TV production, based on data from about 80 programmes, is about 8.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hour.
This is roughly equivalent to the annual emissions associated with space heating, heating and lighting for a pair of semi-detached houses (figures provided by the BBC).
Based on the average rate per production hour for programme emissions, 11 hours of production time would fill the void in the centre of the BBC Television Centre in London - a space that is well-known to production teams.
CLIENT
Natural History Museum, Science Museum, V&A, Imperial College and Royal Albert Hall
PURPOSE
To illustrate the carbon reduction potential for the South Kensington 1851 Estate.
DESCRIPTION
Striking image set, to illustrate the Carbon Reduction Masterplan launched by the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change.
Carbon Visuals has created a set of striking images to illustrate the carbon reduction potential for the South Kensington 1851 Estate. Organisations involved include the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Imperial College, the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal College of Music and the Royal College of Arts.
These prestigious institutions came together in 2005 to embark on an inspirational long-term carbon reduction plan. Phase One involved laying the foundations and creating a realistic strategy. The Masterplan, launched in November 2011, marks the conclusion of that phase and the commencement of its realisation.
Carbon Visuals aided communication amongst the parties and with external stakeholders by creating striking imagese at various stages of the project.
Creating a computer generated model of the Estate enabled a wide range of different images to be created - wide angle, close-up, aerial and ground level.
To see the context in which the images were used feel free to download the PDF of the overview brochure.
Carbon visuals specialises in providing a ‘feel’ for carbon data. Initially we focused on single statistics and small data-sets. Now we can use the same techniques to provide a sense of scale for tens of thousands of carbon footprints at the same time.
With a grant from the UK’s Technology Strategy Board we have been exploring real-time visualisation and the visualisation of large data-sets. One of the results is an interactive visualisation of the carbon footprint of every public building in England and Wales – 40 thousand of them!
http://uk-energy-ratings.carbonvisuals.com/ The visualisation works in any browser that can run the Google Earth plugin but because the dataset is large, the plugin may perform sluggishly on slow computers.
Or open in desktop version of Google Earth: http://uk-energy-ratings.carbonvisuals.com/kml/uk-emissions.kml
The visualisation uses a database of UK Display Energy Certificates – the energy ratings that all public buildings must display. Once we had geocoded these we displayed the buildings’ carbon footprint in 3D in Google Earth as actual volumes of carbon dioxide gas at the location of the building itself.
We can display the daily footprint as well as the annual footprint because a day’s emissions are sometimes easier to relate to activity. We can also display the footprint with reference to the floor-area of the building itself. Wide short footprints indicate buildings with smaller emissions per square metre than narrow tall footprints.
This application uses data obtained from the Department for Communities and Local Government by the Centre for Sustainable Energy.www.cse.org.uk/pages/resources/open-data
The visualisation works in a number of ways. It allows comparison with other comparable buildings at the same time as providing a sense of scale of emissions from buildings as a whole. Most importantly, it uses the world itself as part of its own explanation. Our familiarity with the real world – with buildings we work in and cities we travel through – is an underused resource in data visualisation. With Google Earth we can put that experience to work.
We can use the same techniques for any geocoded emissions data and create visualisations that can be explored interactively in Google Earth on the desktop or the web. We can also create stand-alone fly-through animations that present the data efficiently to any non-technical audience.
Bird's eye view of Westminster
CLIENT
ADAS
PURPOSE
To illustrate their capability to help farmers manage and reduce emissions.
DESCRIPTION
Film that combines live action and animation to explore the carbon footprint of the UK potato at personal and farm scales.
ADAS, the land and farming consultancy, wanted to compliment the earlier film that we made to illustrate emissions, sequestration & stored carbon on upland farms in the Peak District National Park. This time they were keen to illustrate their capabilities in helping mainstream farmers manage and reduce their carbon emissions.
The film explores the carbon footprint of the UK potato at the personal scale, as well as carbon saving potential at the farm scale.
More info from ADAS Carbon Management Team
To see all our work for ADAS, click here.
Carbon Visuals is keen to explore the use of film for helping everyone better understand carbon emissions from everyday activities. Please contact us if you have ideas.
CLIENT
BP
PURPOSE
To encourage motorists reduce emissions from driving.
DESCRIPTION
Consultancy and visuals for a web calculator showing actual volumes of CO2 which change in size as reduction actions are chosen, with image set and methodology.
Carbon Visuals helped newly re-launched BP Target Neutral project by providing consultancy for the web calculator designed to help motorists reduce, replace and offset carbon dioxide from driving. The calculator, aimed at the general public, is the first in the world to show actual volumes of CO2 which change in size as different reduction actions are chosen. In addition carbon spheres can be compared against averages for other countries as well as the UK 'target' reduction for 2050.
We also provided a number of bespoke images to highlight transport emissions in the UK, emissions of different transport types as well as transport emissions per capita for different countries.
Our Creative Director, Dr Adam Nieman also provided an overview of the importance of carbon visualisation
The first visual image uses Spaghetti Junction on the M6 near Birmingham as this basic ground. The familiar image from the British road network makes the immediate point that this is about roads, but then uses the recognisable scale to locate a cube-like shape showing the volume of carbon our cars, lorries and buses put into the atmosphere every day.
The cube presents this visually, while the simple captions fill in the specific details. This, the image is saying, is what 90,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide look like, and that’s what we’re pumping into the atmosphere every day. Suddenly the daily figure is something real and dramatic.
The BP Target Neutral Methodology PDF outlines the data, calculations and assumptions in the image set.
Carbon Visuals was commissioned by DECC to produce a set of high-resolution Google Earth images to illustrate Government department carbon footprints and reduction targets. The total carbon dioxide emissions between May 2010 and May 2011 amounted to 646,231 tonnes, which is 13.8% less than the previous year. This is what that looks like.
The actual volume of carbon dioxide gas emitted by the UK Government in 2010/11 (red volume). The saving on 2009/10 - the gas that didn't enter the atmosphere - is shown as the dashed volume. The target is shown as a red band.
See the Government press release here:www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn11059/pn11059.aspx
The Royal College of Music worked with the Carbon Trust to develop a Carbon Management Plan, which was published in July 2010. The Plan highlighted a number of actions that could be taken to reduce emissions by 25% by 2013/14.
A key part of the Plan was to get students and staff engaged in the issues, so Carbon Visuals were invited to find innovative ways to communicate the carbon footprint and emissions reduction targets.
It was a very worth while project and has been a well recieved way of getting this difficult message across
Matthew Nicholl, Building Project Manager, Royal College of Music
To turn abstract numbers into quantities that viewers could relate to physically, we used a depiction of the College building. We also proposed a way for musicians in particular to gauge a 25% reduction – it’s like losing nearly two octaves from a piano.
Some of these images are being used for posters, leaflets and presentations to help staff and students have a better understanding of their carbon footprint and create ‘ownership’ of reduction plans and targets.
Carbon Visuals have created this short animation film to show the emissions, sequestration & stored carbon on ten upland farms in the Peak District National Park. The farms extend over 1,500 hectares and comprise part moorland, part pasture.
The data was taken from ADAS Report Environmental Quality Mark (EQM) Farm Carbon Footprint and Water Audit Pilot Project.
The core message from the film is that these farms are not only producing food and preserving the landscape. They are performing an important role as guardians of a huge carbon store that is best kept in soils and vegetation.
We believe that this is a 'world first' for this type of medium. Created for the consultancy ADAS, the film demonstrates the potential for moving animation to communicate complex carbon stories.
The film is being used to engage a variety of stakeholders including ADAS staff, farm managers and agricultural policymakers.
To see all our work for ADAS, click here.
If you like this approach, and feel that it would suit your particular carbon communication challenge, then please contact us.
The One Planet radio programme on the BBC's World Service came to Carbon Visuals with simple question: "what does our carbon footprint look like?"
One Planet was carefully accounting for emissions arising from the making of the programme and had arrived at a figure of about 34.9 tonnes per year. But what does that mean?
Measuring carbon dioxide in terms of mass (tonnes) makes sense from an accounting point of view but doesn't give us a sense of scale we can relate to. We examined a variety of alternative ways of representing One Planet's footprint.
We have shown the programme's annual emissions by volume in a recognisable location and in relation to an iconic feature - Trafalgar Square and Nelson's Column. These provide a sense of scale that enable the viewer to relate to the volume.
You can hear a discussion about this project, first broadcast on Thursday 8 April 2010, by visiting the One Planet website.
ADAS provides environmental solutions, rural development services and policy advice. The company is leading projects on GHG methodologies and mitigation measures for food production and agriculture in the UK.
For both simple and complex foods, the key is to understand the production processes of crops and animals in intensive, extensive and organic production systems.
The company asked Carbon Visuals to provide a series of images to showcase their carbon management consulting capability to the food and agriculture sector.
We created images depicting the carbon footprint of potatoes in relation to the production of school meals in the UK. In addition we provided an animated film showing the emissions, sequestration and stored carbon on ten Peak District farms.
Finally we produced a set of images to show the company's own carbon footprint and their reduction target. This included a comparison with the total emissions from UK agriculture - which they are able to influence through their consultancy practices.
