Embodied Carbon in the built environment
Operational Carbon refers to the day-to-day emissions associated with the operation of the building, such as the electricity usage which can be measured in real-time. We know how to reduce the operational carbon, it is just a matter of whether we take action or not!
Embodied Carbon refers to the emissions related to the manufacture of the materials that go into the construction of a building, the maintenance and repair of these building materials, and the end of life of these materials. It is complicated to measure.
The NSW Department of Planning is introducing new Embodied Carbon targets to meet in your BASIX Assessment whilst in the design stages of your project, to ensure you are producing the least amount of greenhouse gases upfront in the construction phase.
The creation of building products is energy intensive, especially for products such as cement, steel, concrete, aluminium and engineered timber, due to the requirements for high temperature process heat in the manufacturing and the use of chemical reactions. These processes are hard to decarbonise. Once a building is built, those emissions are locked in. It is important that we look at the emissions of those building materials to get to Net Zero BEFORE constructions begins.
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The demand for low carbon building products is growing. The marketplace is changing and new sustainable industries are emerging for low emissions building materials which will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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The Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders' Alliance (MECLA) was created to drive reductions in embodied carbon in the building and construction industry. For more information and to see how you can become part of their visions, please visit their webpage located at https://mecla.org.au/