International property and construction consultants Davis Langdon have developed an embodied carbon calculator which overcomes one of the difficult development problems of calculating a project’s carbon footprint in advance.
The Davis Langdon Embodied Carbon Metric (ECM) will help designers and developers make informed design decisions around the greenhouse gas legacy of their buildings and not only around financial costs and Green Star compliance.
The concept – based on the award winning British carbon tool and tailored to measure up to Australian standards – will be formally released at the coming Green Cities 2010 conference to be held in Melbourne in February.
Davis Langdon has already applied the embodied carbon calculator to a building project in Australia and plans to have specific figures on the performance of trial to put before the Green Cities conference.
Davis Langdon Associate Director Michael Manikas said the embodied carbon calculator and carbon benchmarks used in the design and cost planning process of construction projects were intended to assist with the selection of construction materials in the design process and to reduce a development’s overall carbon footprint.
“Information on the embodied carbon content of many construction materials and processes has until now not been readily available in a format which can be used during the design process, and this could result in higher than desired carbon content and ultimately in additional costs to reduce the carbon footprint to present-day standards,” said Mr Manikas.
“This effective tool will enable truly low carbon development through the availability of good quality, readily applicable data.”
"For the first time owners and developers will not only be able to determine costs, but also the environmental impact of a project."
"This means that during the design process they can get a cost and environment benefit balance which delivers their corporate social responsibility objectives."
The ECM tool can assess the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the manufacture of materials including their transport. Emission factors are calculated based on a life cycle approach and assesses the carbon intensity of products, including the extraction of raw materials, primary energy sources, manufacture and transport.
It provides a methodological and pragmatic support to decision makers to assist in initial specifications and even to justify the selection of individual components such as frame options, facades and finishes.
Embodied carbon is set to become a major driver for product innovation and resource efficient design and construction - an increasingly important aspect of the sustainability agenda.
Mr Manikas said embodied carbon will become increasingly significant as a major component of a building’s whole of life carbon footprint as operational carbon emissions are reduced.
“A low-energy building may have a wind turbine, photovoltaics and insulation, but unless you can accurately assess just how much carbon has been emitted in construction, it is impossible to effectively calculate the building's carbon footprint,” he said.
“In the same way that operating and maintenance costs need detailed consideration, it is important that the day-one carbon impact of a project is understood and mitigated.
"Savings in embodied carbon emissions achieve significant Year One reductions that will take years to achieve through operational savings.”
“Studies suggest the embodied energy in buildings may be equivalent to approximately 11-23 times annual operational energy use depending on the complexity of the building,” he said.
Complex, lightweight building components are often more energy-intensive to manufacture than conventional construction, a factor that is often ignored when ‘low-carbon’ buildings are specified with high-performance components.
“These are the sorts of issues which can be teased out using the embodied carbon calculator, allowing developers and design consultants to use optimal materials and practices to achieve a low carbon outcome.”
For further information, contact Meaghan Jones on +61 3 9933 8800 or email mjones2@davislangdon.com.au
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