Whole Life Cycle Assessment / Embodied Carbon

Whole life-cycle carbon emissions are those emissions resulting from the construction and use of a building over its entire life, including its demolition and disposal. These emissions include not only those associated with the building’s energy use, both regulated (covered by building regulations) and un-regulated, but also its embodied carbon emissions.

Embodied carbon emissions are those associated with raw material extraction, manufacture and transport of building materials, construction on site and the emissions associated with maintenance, repair and replacement as well as dismantling, demolition and eventual material disposal. They can be considered a true picture of a building’s carbon impact on the environment. Net zero-carbon commitments include embodied carbon in addition to those emissions associated with a building’s operation.

An important aspect of the assessment is however not to just calculate and record the whole life-cycle carbon emissions, but to facilitate decisions on design, materials use and sourcing to lessen the impact of the proposed development on the environment.

Whole life-cycle assessments are a mandatory requirement of the planning application process for all major developments in greater London, with the requirement introduced when the London Plan was updated in 2021. There are also a number of BREEAM credits associated with materials use which requires an assessment at the concept stage of projects.

To discuss your project’s requirements, call us on 01865 378885 or complete the Contact Us form.