Contribution of carbon footprint research towards the triple bottom line of sustainability

Carbon footprint (CF) research has received increasing attention in recent years, as evidenced by a rise in publications and citations, reflecting a growing concern for the environmental impact of human activities. However, the alignment of this scientific literature with the three dimensions of sustainability performance provided by the TBL paradigm (people, planet, and profit) has received limited attention. This study addresses this research gap by undertaking a large-scale bibliometric analysis of 9032 Web of Science (WoS) publications from 1992 to 2020. At the macro (journals) and micro (papers) levels, a methodology approach to classify research publications according to TBL dimensions was designed. The results indicate that the output and impact of CF research are balanced with respect to the environmental (planet) and economic (prosperity/profit) dimensions, while the social impact is balanced with respect to the people+profit dimensions. Other than that, Affordable and Clean Energy (3761 publications) and Climate Action (3091 publications) are the most frequently represented (and interconnected) objectives. The results obtained contribute to a greater understanding of the contribution of CF research to the attainment of the SDGs.

Automated summary

Carbon footprint research has gained increasing attention due to concerns about the environmental impact of human activities. However, the alignment between this research and the dimensions of sustainability has been neglected. This study fills this research gap by analyzing 9032 publications from 1992 to 2020, and finds that CF research is balanced in terms of the environmental and economic dimensions, as well as the social dimension. The study also identifies the most frequently represented objectives, such as Affordable and Clean Energy and Climate Action.