What is Embodied Carbon?
Embodied carbon is a term that is mentioned more and more frequently. Many local authorities are now enquiring about developer’s strategies when considering planning applications, and savvy building/estate owners are also considering the impact in order to meet net-zero targets. Tenants and employees are even questioning how sustainable their building is as they want to work in a healthy, environmentally friendly building.
So, what actually is embodied carbon?
It is carbon dioxide emissions associated with the construction process, how materials are sourced and transported, CO2 produced when maintaining the building throughout its life, and all the way through to the end of life of the asset, e.g. demolishion. It does not include operational carbon, which refers to things such as heating, HVAC, ventilation, lighting etc.
“Embodied carbon is expected to account for nearly 50% of the overall carbon footprint of new construction between now and 2050” (CarbonCure 2020).
Retrofit vs new build
There is a big push to retrofit buildings as opposed to knocking them down and building new ones. Retrofitting emits a lot less carbon, and given that 80% of the buildings in use in 2050 have already been built, there are many buildings that need to be upgraded.
We discussed this with Andy Saull from CBRE on our podcast. He explained that currently, "the market doesn't yet value more environmentally sustainable buildings, largely because we have no real way of measuring the ROI of sustainable investment.” Therefore, buildings are getting more and more outdated because the incentive to upgrade is lacking. The result is that “banks will not loan against an outdated asset because it is currently unsustainable and underperforming. Hence, we end up having stranded assets in the market that no one wants to buy and no one wants to retrofit. We need to avoid this by acting and retrofitting before it’s too late”.
When designing new buildings, new environmental practices need to be adopted to ensure quality, sustainable materials and concepts are used to reduce embodied carbon but also help to reduce operational carbon when the building is in use. Part of this is ensuring sufficient interoperable sensors and smart systems are installed at the start, allowing data to be collected and insights to be gained. This will clearly show facility managers how their building is performing and allow them to optimise operations to further reduce carbon. This is an essential first step for ESG reporting, which has become a prevalent measure of a business’s success. This extra financial reporting takes many factors into account, environmental impact being one of the three core areas measured.
For developers and contractors, there are many reasons they should take embodied carbon seriously. “Legal limits on embodied carbon will be mandated, using fewer resources can reduce costs and risk around resource availability, and it may be a requirement to obtain planning permission in the future” (RPS N/A). In the not-so-distant future, all businesses will be required to have an ESG score and an improvement plan set out to reduce CO2 emissions. This has already been made mandatory for premium listed companies by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. In the UK, we must reach net zero emissions by 2050; hence work must begin now.
“One of the main methods to reduce embodied carbon is by using more resilient materials that will last longer and are often produced via a more efficient construction process. Adopting these changes will reduce capital expenditure as well as maintenance, repair and replacement costs” (RPS N/A).
One trend that is growing in popularity is living walls, there are issues associated with a lack of policy, financing and maintenance around all forms of green infrastructure, but plants can be chosen that improve air quality and can add ecological value for pollinating insects. Utilising spaces such as the side of a building or the rooftop can all help to reduce carbon further and is an innovative idea that can form part of a sustainable building strategy.
At amBX, we have recently joined the UK Green Buildings Council’s (UKGBC) Solutions Library. The UKGBC have released guidance for designers and architects to follow to create more sustainable assets when embarking on new build projects. Their solutions library contains a range of environmental products and systems that construction stakeholders can use for research, guidance and implementation.