Whole Life Cycle Carbon Assessment

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Whole Life Cycle Carbon Assessment

As anyone involved in building development projects is now encouraged to account for carbon emissions resulting from the building material sourcing and manufacture, construction process and use of the premises throughout its whole lie, including demolition and disposal, we are now offering Whole Life-Cycle Carbon (WLC) assessments.

WLC emissions include operational carbon emissions from the building’s energy and water use but also its embodied carbon emissions – those connected with raw material extraction, manufacturing and transportation of materials to and from construction sites, and the emissions associated with maintenance, repair and replacement as well as deconstruction, demolition and eventual material disposal.

A WLC assessment also includes the potential to offset emission levels by the ability to recover and reuse and/ or recycle materials at the end of the building’s life, thus presenting an holistic picture of the building’s overall impact on the environment.

As the World Green Building Council in 2018 estimated that 11% of the world’s embodied carbon emissions come from the construction industry, developers, architects and engineers are all encouraged to apply Whole Life Cycle principles to their work.

In the UK, the Mayor of London’s office has published guidance on WLC assessments which focus on estimates of life cycle emissions, opportunities and constraints regarding carbon emission reduction for any major referable developments, materials and end of life scenarios, including the potential percentage of any materials that can be recycled or reused, and key actions to be taken to reduce carbon emissions related to that building.

Whole Life Cycle Carbon emissions approaches ensure that a significant source of GHG from the built environment are accounted for which is necessary to

achieve net-zero carbon status
achieve cost savings by encouraging the re-use of existing materials
identify the carbon benefits of using recycled material and the benefits of designing for future reuse and recycling to reduce waste and support the circular economy
encourage a ‘fabric first’ approach to building design thereby minimising mechanical plant and services in favour of natural ventilation

By considering emissions related to energy and water use at the same time as embodied carbon emissions, this helps all those working on a construction scheme find the optimum solutions for the development over its lifetime, from initial design to ultimate demolition.

Syntegra MD Alan King said: ‘For too long now these issues have been tackled as separate considerations. It is now vital that they are considered together and the clear way to maximise efficiency is to treat them as one overall design feature from the very outset of a project.

‘WLC assessments can seem daunting when drawing up development plans but our team has experience of drawing them up and knows precisely the type of information and calculations required to satisfy planning and legal requirements.’

Anyone wanting an initial discussion about Whole Life Cycle Carbon assessments should contact us immediately.