Briefing: Embodied carbon dioxide assessment in buildings: guidance and gaps

Giesekam, Jannik; Pomponi, Francesco

Abstract

The construction industry, through its activities and supply chains as well as the operation of the assets that it creates, is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Embodied carbon dioxide emissions associated with the construction of new assets constitute a growing share of whole-life emissions across all project types and make up nearly a quarter of all annual emissions from the UK built environment. Yet these embodied emissions are still rarely assessed in practice, owing to the perceived difficulty and lack of supporting guidance for practitioners conducting an assessment. This briefing paper retraces recent advances in the field of embodied carbon dioxide assessment and highlights existing and forthcoming practical guidance that could support more widespread assessment. The paper constitutes a where-to rather than a how-to, directing assessors towards appropriate resources, of which there are many. Although the paper does highlight some remaining gaps in the field and identifies corresponding research priorities, recent additions to the body of guidance are generally sufficient to support more widespread assessment. Now, the industry must demonstrate its commitment to tackling climate change by using this guidance to drive deeper carbon dioxide reduction.

Citation

Giesekam, J., & Pomponi, F. (2017). Briefing: Embodied carbon dioxide assessment in buildings: guidance and gaps. Proceedings of the ICE - Engineering Sustainability, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1680/jensu.17.00032

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 18, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jul 11, 2017
• Publication Date: Jul 11, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jul 11, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 12, 2018
• Journal: Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability
• Print ISSN: 1478-4629
• Electronic ISSN: 1751-7680
• Publisher: ICE Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 1-8
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1680/jensu.17.00032
• Keywords: buildings, structures & design, design methods, aids sustainability,
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/959909
• Contract Date: Jul 11, 2017