Almost a third of the built environment’s carbon footprint is formed by embodied carbon, primarily from the manufacturing of steel and cement. Today, green building ratings have a low focus on these emissions – giving an incomplete impression of the sustainability of construction. But we can fix this.
The built environment contributes to almost 39% of global carbon emissions, with 28% formed by operational emissions, and the remainder from embodied carbon.
While operational emissions, such as those produced during the lifetime use of a building (power, heating, cooling etc.) have proven methods to be addressed, such as switching to renewable energy and using energy efficiency measures – embodied carbon, which refers to the emissions related to the manufacturing, transport and use of construction materials, has been more difficult to quantify and address. Yet, with almost a third of the built environment’s emissions formed by embodied carbon, finding ways to accelerate action is key to meeting net zero ambitions.
Currently cement manufacturing is responsible for 7% of global carbon emissions and is a direct contributor to embodied carbon in construction. Steel manufacturing contributes 8% to global emissions, about half of which contributes to embodied emissions in construction.
A case for enhancing green building ratings.
Green building rating systems have largely focused on operational carbon, awarding buildings that are best able to reduce operational emissions with higher ratings, while placing little value on embodied carbon reductions. This is in line with a general tendency for sectors and companies to focus on scope 1 and 2 emissions, rather than scope 3 emissions, due to data collection and calculation complexity.
In this paper from Build Ahead, A case for including embodied carbon in green ratings, we look at how ratings agencies can set standards and benchmarks to raise the bar on how buildings are rated as green, and how this can lead to the transformation of the construction sector.
This paper includes information and analysis on:
- Embodied carbon, and why it matters.
- A review of the current green ratings systems.
- How developers and builders can take action.
- The role of standards and ratings bodies in the industry.
- Our recommendations for change.
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