ReviewBMJ open2024
Quantifying the carbon footprint of clinical trials: guidance development and case studies.
Review in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness and Characteristics of Work Participation Interventions for Adults with Musculoskeletal Upper Limb Conditions: A Systematic Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Sustainability in Pharmaceutical Research and Development: A Perspective on Opportunities for Clinical Pharmacology and Translational Sciences.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2026Article
- Measuring the carbon footprint of clinical research activities: a scoping review of measurement tools and methods.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Climate Change, Neurological Disorders and Brain Health: To-Know Concepts and Future Actions by the EAN Environmental Influences in Neurology Task Force.European journal of neurology · 2026Review
- Article
- Do remote clinical trials offer carbon savings while maintaining research quality? Experiences from the Eczema Bathing Study.Skin health and disease · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Clinical Research: A Full Life Cycle Analysis of a French Academic Randomised Clinical Trial.Fundamental & clinical pharmacology · 2026Article
- No more waiting: 10 tips to turn kidney transplantation green.Clinical kidney journal · 2026Review
- The Environmental and Global Impact of Pharmacogenomics: Advancing Green Pharmacy Toward Sustainable and Inclusive Precision Medicine.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Review
- Policy options on a sustainable path for clinical trials.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2026Article
- Running a clinical trial remotely: Lessons learnt from a decentralised multicentre randomised controlled trial evaluating a digital health intervention for Chronic Kidney Disease.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Co-developing a survey on public understanding of sustainable clinical research: A study protocol.PloS one · 2026Article
- Assessing the carbon footprint of French academic clinical trials using the NIHR method.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Reporting of environmental outcomes in randomised clinical trials: a protocol for a scoping review.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Stepping Stones to Sustainability Within Cancer Clinical Trials in Ireland.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Article
- Article
- Carbon footprint of a sample of clinical trials for people with neurological disorders: cross-sectional analysis.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Viewpoint: a white paper for a greener design, conduct and reporting of clinical trials in respiratory medicine.The European respiratory journal · 2025Article
- Quantifying the carbon footprint of clinical research activities - measurement tools and methods: a scoping review protocol.HRB open research · 2025Article
- It is time to consider the climate crisis in haematology.Clinical hematology international · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe urgency of the climate crisis requires attention from biomedical research, not least clinical trials which can involve significant greenhouse gas emissions. The Low Carbon Clinical Trials Working Group set out a strategy to reduce the emissions of clinical trials, starting with the development of a method to measure their carbon footprint (CO
methodsAs a first step, we developed a process map defining clinical trial core activities. Corresponding emission factors were sourced to convert activity data into greenhouse gas emissions. The subsequent method was applied to two Cancer Research UK (CRUK)-funded trials (the international randomised sarcoma trial CASPS (ISRCTN63733470) and the UK cohort-based breast cancer trial PRIMETIME (ISRCTN41579286)). A guidance document defining the scope, method and assumptions was written to allow application to any publicly funded/investigator initiated clinical trial.
resultsTrial specific activities over and above routine care were grouped into 10 modules covering trial set up, conduct and closure. We identified emission factors for all trial activities within both trials and used them to estimate their total carbon footprint. The carbon footprint of CASPS, an international phase 2 trial of an investigational medicinal product with 47 participants, was 72 tonnes CO
conclusionWe have developed a method and guidance that trialists can use to determine the carbon footprint of clinical trials. The guidance can be used to identify carbon hotspots where alternative approaches to trial design and conduct could reduce a trial footprint, and where methodology research is required to investigate the potential impact of interventions taken to reduce carbon emissions. We will continue to refine the guidance to increase the potential application and improve usability.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.