REAP (Resources and Energy Analysis Programme) is a software tool that helps policy makers to understand and measure the environmental pressures associated with human consumption. The tool has been developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute at its centre in York, and has been widely used by local authorities in the United Kingdom. It contains baseline data on the greenhouse gases, air pollutants and ecological footprints for the entire UK.

REAP can be used at the local, regional and national levels and generates indicators on:

-          Carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions measured in tonnes per capita

-          The Ecological Footprint required to sustain an area in global hectares per capita

-          The Material Flows of products and services through an area measured in thousands of tonnes.

The methodology behind REAP is based on input-output analysis. One of the most important functions in the REAP tool is the scenario editor. This can be used to explore the environmental pressures associated with changes in population, consumption patterns and production technology over time.

Figure 1. The REAP interface

Find out more about REAP: www.resource-accounting.org.uk