Defra is commissioning a multi-year research program focused on solid fuel burning in domestic settings across the UK, aiming to enhance the evidence base for emissions trends and inform policy development through four interlinked work packages.
Defra is seeking to commission a multi-year research programme to strengthen the evidence base around solid fuel burning across the UK, with a focus on domestic settings. The contract is expected to run from 1st February 2026 until at least 31st January 2030 with the possibility of a one (1) year extension (which is not guaranteed), and is structured around four interlinked work packages. Previous research, similar in nature, can be found here; https://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectId=20159 https://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectId=21104 This work is essential for informing trends in emissions from domestic burning, both indoors and outdoors and will support better policy and intervention development.
Defra is seeking to commission a multi-year research programme to strengthen the evidence base around solid fuel burning across the UK, with a focus on domestic settings. Work Package Overview Work Package 1: National Estimates of Domestic Burning (UK wide) This package aims to generate robust, reliable and nationally representative data on domestic burning practices and develop UK wide estimates of solid fuel use, including a public facing Core Activity Survey (CAS), to monitor trends in indoor and outdoor burning. As part of this work package, the successful bidder will be expected to scale and quantify collected data to produce UK wide estimates of solid fuel use, supporting Defra’s National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) and DESNZ’s Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES). Work Package 2: Behavioural Insights (England only) The aim of this work package is to explore the motivations driving burning behaviours, as well as attitudes held, and knowledge of air quality impacts related to burning. This survey should be designed to enable segmentation analysis and as a minimum cover; why people burn solid fuels and how this varies by demographic; awareness of health and environmental impacts; barriers/enablers to behaviour change and potential levers for intervention; views of non-burners to contextualise public perception. Work Package 3: Real-World Burning Practices & Indoor Air Quality (England only) This package aims to deepen our understanding of domestic burning behaviours and their impact on indoor air pollution. This work package should be designed to build on the data collected from the CAS. We anticipate this to be a qualitative study of burners that would provide detailed contextual information such as fuel choices, sourcing, storage, appliance use habits, as well as detailed measurements of how much fuel is being burnt, and the moisture content of wood fuels in use. Work Package 4: Stakeholder Engagement, Market Insight & Evaluation This package will support evolving policy and evidence needs related to domestic combustion. This may include, but is not limited to, engagement with key stakeholders, such as industry, local authorities, and consumers. It may also include evaluation activities and desk-based research. Potential methods include focus groups, workshops, and stakeholder interviews; mystery shopping, market compliance assessments and market research; evaluation of interventions, communications, or supply chain practices. This work will help contextualise findings from other work packages and support implementation planning. Suppliers should be confident in their ability to deliver robust qualitative and quantitative research to support these aims. If you have an interest in this requirement please get in touch with the procurement team, no later than 15:00 on Thursday 2nd October 2025, at: dgc-laww-buyer@defra.gov.uk inbox referencing this opportunity. The team are interested in gaining some information from the market, so any interested party should register their interest by email to the address above, with their answers to the following questions. 1. Can you identify and recommend any potential data sources that could aid or improve the research through data linkage? 2. Are there additional areas that a core activity survey could address in which would improve our estimates of emissions from domestic burning (indoor and/or outdoor)? (https://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectId=21104)