The GeoInformation® Group, publishers of Cities Revealed aerial photography (www.citiesrevealed.com), announce today the availability of Carbon Mapping.  This new data rich geographic information map powered by DECoRuM® is designed to tackle climate change and to assist government bodies in their efforts to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions under the Climate Change Act 2008. The Climate Change Act 2008 puts into statute the UK's targets to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 80% by 2050 and at least 26% by 2020.  Local authorities are required to seek reduction in their own CO2 emissions and the emissions within their authority area to meet government targets set out in the Act and outlined in National Indicators 185 and 186. Residential properties produce some 30% of estimated CO2 emissions within the UK.  Local authorities are responsible for monitoring and tackling their own housing stock CO2 emissions as well as producing CO2 reduction plans for privately owned residential properties.

The first step towards reducing residential CO2 emissions is to obtain a baseline of the current emissions. The GeoInformation Group has partnered with the Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development (OISD) at Oxford Brookes University to produce the comprehensive Carbon Mapping solution.  It is a low cost authority-wide baseline model for residential CO2 emissions and is based on nationally accepted carbon models and takes into account the properties of each house.

This unique geographic information product is comprised of DECoRuM® (Domestic Energy, Carbon Counting and Carbon Reduction Model), developed by Oxford Brookes University (www.decorum-model.org.uk), which receives key input items from Cities Revealed Building Class and Building Heights databases.  The collective information provides a GIS-ready, accurate and consistent baseline model for creating an authority- wide CO2 reduction plan.

Alun Jones, Managing Director of The GeoInformation Group, commented, “The Sustainable Mapping events that we organised in the autumn of this year provided a real insight into how important having CO2 baseline information is to local authorities. We have already received a number of orders from local government clients for our Carbon Mapping service.  The GeoInformation Group has always strived to provide innovative geographic information tools designed to meet the needs of our clients and the feedback to this new data service has been extremely positive.  By partnering with a well-respected academic organisation such as the Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development at Oxford Brookes University we are providing confidence in the consistency and accuracy of the results of the Carbon Mapping service.”

About The GeoInformation Group

The GeoInformation Group is a privately owned company based in Cambridge, UK, with offices in South Africa and partners in France and India.
With over 7000 licensed users worldwide The GeoInformation Group is a leading provider of high-resolution orthorectified aerial imagery and geospatial information products. Its aerial imagery products are published under the brand name Cities Revealed.
It also provides consultancy, training and mapping services to a broad array of professionals and has undertaken contracts to provide bespoke image databases across the world.
www.citiesrevealed.com

About The Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development (OISD), Oxford Brookes University
The Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development (OISD), which is based within the School of the Built Environment at Oxford Brookes University, was established in July 2004. OISD, which has six main research groups, is the largest academic research institute in the UK dedicated to research on sustainable development in the built environment. A recent HEFCE report into sustainable development in higher education in England suggests that OISD is one of the key players in sustainable development research.

The mission of OISD, which has a multidisciplinary focus, is to help create a sustainable future by undertaking research on sustainability in the built and natural environments. OISD is currently carrying out a range of funded research for the research councils, industry and the public sector.

The award-winning DECoRuM® toolkit was developed by Dr Rajat Gupta who is Co-Director of the Architecture unit of OISD.
www.decorum-model.org.uk