Thursday 12 May saw over 100 delegates attend Sustain's "Whole Life Carbon: the sum of the parts" conference in The Guildhall, Bath with a welcome address from Councillor Sarah Bevan, Chairman of Bath and North East Somerset Council and expert speakers from Sustain, Construction Excellence South West and Future Foundations, University of Bath, Halcrow Yolles and SWRDA, KeepMoat, Simons and White Design. The event was designed to provide the latest knowledge, experience and thinking on embodied carbon in construction.
Embodied carbon is currently around one third of the carbon issue within the built environment but currently not the focus of much of the regulation. Over this decade the relative importance is set to increase to 60-70% and the financial imperative to address this will exist. It is likely that planning could be the first to regulate on this issue. Tools exist to help to calculate embodied carbon but there is a need for a clear standard methodology to support industry and there were frequent references that cost consultants would be well placed to pick this up. It was also clear that it is possible, with current solutions, to reduce the embodied and operational carbon impact of built assets and the components and operations that go in to making these.
Take away points
- A quarter to a third of the whole life carbon of a building is embodied carbon
- Standards such as PAS 2060 are emerging that will prevent green washing
- Transport is an issue but the method of transportation (air, road, rail, sea) is equally as important as the distance travelled
- The future decarbonisation of the national grid electricity in the UK will have a very significant effect on whole life carbon calculations
- The ICE database was developed as an academic response to shortcut the requirements to assess levels of regression in thermodynamic systems
- THE ICE database is valuable in that it is free and sourcing is transparent, it is therefore free from commercial pressures and influence
- There is a full range of information, guidance and advice out there, knowing where it is the important first step
- The carbon issue is not just about climate change - it is commercial and carbon reduction in all areas can save money
- Savings can be made today in all areas, to achieve these one needs to focus on the key areas of true operational energy use, the shell and core areas of the building development
- 60% of embodied carbon, within 4 real buildings that have been assessed, is in the shell and core
- Buildings with lower operational carbon tend to have higher embodied carbon but studies show that the carbon payback is less than 5 years and over a 60 year life a true zero carbon building in operation will have 50% less whole life carbon than one built to current building regulations
- The lack of a standard methodology for working up materials into building components can result in radically different answers from different consultants
- Moving to off-site construction has shown to reduce embodied carbon by 42.6% (using timber frame in lieu of brick and block)
- The importance of user education remains key in reducing operational carbon
- For construction companies, the site operations part of a buildings embodied carbon is their scope 1 and 2 emissions therefore much closer to the issue than others
- Within construction activities the relative importance of the carbon impact of sending waste to landfill was highlighted
- Eco-site cabins can be commercially neutral to the contractor and there is relative importance in getting the mains electrical supply on site early to reduce overall site emissions
- Over 90% of a building can be constructed from renewable organic materials that lock in carbon to the building
- The built environment can be the next major carbon sink by using timber, straw, hemp etc. which can rival and beat technological CCS scheme
Please follow these links below to access the presentations
- Setting the Landscape - Including Drivers, Opportunities, Policy and Legislation - Dr. Craig Jones, Sustain
- Introducing Embodied Carbon - The ICE Database - Prof. Geoff Hammond, University of Bath
- Counting Carbon - A look at Tools and Resources - Thomas Stoare, Construction Excellence and Future Foundations
- Whole Life Carbon - the sum of the parts - Matt Fulford, Sustain
- Whole Life Cost and Carbon - Sustainable Offices - Dr. Jon Atkinson, Halcrow Yolles and Mark Wray, SWRDA
- Practical steps to lowering residential carbon emissions without raising overall carbon emissions - Nigel Banks, KeepMoat
- Construction Site Impacts - Measurement and Reduction - Dr. Rosi Fieldson, Simons
- Renewable Materials - Working within the carbon cycle, rather than upon it - Craig White, White Design
We offer the depth of our expertise and services for embodied carbon assessments, which may, for example, be for a single product, a building refurbishment, or indeed a full construction project. Click here to see our service offering.
