A student intern is making waves in the maritime sustainability sector by helping calculate the carbon footprint of the Tall Ships Races Aberdeen.
MSc Sustainability Transitions student Rodney Ekow Keelson is part of a team tasked with figuring out the impact of the Tall Ships Races when the event sails into Aberdeen in July.
Working with the Tall Ships team, the 23-year-old is currently assessing different methods of gathering data to determine which will deliver the greatest depth of results.
“The challenge lies in determining the most effective way to gather a large volume of data during the event setup, throughout the four days of the Tall Ships event, and during the post-event breakdown.
“We need to take a range of factors into account, including energy consumption, ship emissions, and the impact of quayside concerts. The most complex and potentially most significant area is understanding how people will travel to the event. We will also need to carefully assess which data we can feasibly collect within the limited time available.
“Visitors will be making their way to Aberdeen from neighbouring towns, cities and further afield in cars, buses, trains, planes – and ships.
“A lot of work will go into evaluating the best channels for us to get the information we need.”
Rodney is currently on the MSc Sustainability Transitions programme, designed to train the future generation of innovators and thinkers who have the passion and ambition to deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and become true sustainability leaders which the world needs.
It is believed that the project might mark the first ever carbon footprint report for a Tall Ships event, and the output by the team could even set the benchmark for future events.
“Aberdeen has lots of pioneering green projects and the city’s port wants to become the UK's first net zero port by 2040. This project really demonstrates the city’s commitment to sustainability and I’m excited to be part of it,” added Rodney, who studied Economics as an undergraduate.
“I’ve never been involved in anything like the Tall Ships or an event of this scale but carbon accounting is a really interesting field and this is great experience.”
Dr Piotr Niewiadomski, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography and MSc Sustainability Transitions Programme Director, said: “I’m truly delighted that one of our MSc Sustainability Transitions students has a chance to work with the Tall Ships team and make an important contribution to such a challenging task. Not only does it reflect Rodney’s individual ambitions and capabilities, but it also demonstrates the value of our MSc degree which trains future sustainability experts who will be in a position to lead the sustainability and net zero agenda in many different sectors.”
The project will run until September 2025.