Pictured above: (l-r) Emma Fieldhouse and George Martin

Ever wondered how big a tonne of carbon is? One national construction firm has recently illustrated this in an innovative way.

Willmott Dixon teamed up with the University of Leicester to create a life-sized depiction of a tonne of carbon, which took centre stage at the University's Big Green Week - aimed at encouraging greener behaviour both on and off campus in an enjoyable, informative and interactive way.

The 'Carbon Cube' was specially designed to show the amount of space a tonne of carbon takes up at atmospheric pressure and, at 559.48m3, it's larger than the average UK home.

As the third largest privately owned capital works, regeneration and support services group, Willmott Dixon has invested £5 million in the last three years in technology, training and procedures to become a sustainable, low carbon business.  

The company's Head of Sustainable Development, George Martin, commented: "Carbon reduction is a hot topic and frequently talked about in the media, but how many people can say they really understand the true effect carbon has in modern society?

"The University itself produces over 30,000 tonnes of carbon every year; without visual representation this is a figure that may be difficult to comprehend. We hope that the cube enabled people to gain a more realistic view of the enormity of carbon consumption across the UK and consolidated the message that more must be done to reduce it."

University of Leicester's, Environmental Manager, Dr Emma Fieldhouse, added: "We felt it was important to make carbon dioxide a visual concept for people. Whilst it remains a concept rather than a physical entity it is easier to ignore. We're hoping that the activities during Big Green Week will have equipped people with a 'carbon understanding' so they can begin to assess and then reduce their impacts. As over 1,350 students, staff and visitors measured their personal carbon footprints during the week, they should now be in a position to start reducing their impacts". 

The University of Leicester has adopted a strategic approach that sets out how it will progressively reduce its carbon footprint. The 2010 Big Green Week focused on asking staff and students of the University to commit to its vision of a 60% carbon reduction target by 2020. 

Willmott Dixon is now hoping to roll-out the Carbon Cube idea across a number of other universities throughout the UK to help promote the concept on a wider scale.