Embodied Carbon in Buildings: Measurement, Management, and Mitigation

Embodied carbon is, to some extent, an odd beast. Its importance is evident and the beneficial consequences of its reduction undeniable. We know that the built envi- ronment is a major source of our carbon excesses, yet most policies focus only on part of the picture by capping operational energy consumption, for the use of buildings. We also know that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that carbon reductions are needed now, not in 30 years’ time. Lowering the immediate emissions related to current building construction and demolition, the embodied carbon, is an obvious way to do so. In recent years, research on embodied carbon has therefore increased.Many fields of research develop steadily over the years, led by a small and coherent community of experts. Others quietly die, as the world moves on. Yet, for a very few topics, a moment comes when the world suddenly wakes up to their importance, and interest and attention start to snowball. This is such a moment for the subject of this book, the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the construc- tion of buildings. Within this snowballing, of industry consultancies producing tools, of manufacturers benchmarking their products, of academics working together on major projects and even of the rumblings of political and regulatory change, there is, however, a real danger that the knowledge will become so dispersed that any real progress will be lost. Instead of forming a coherent body of work to inform policy and evoke real change in how we construct our built environment, we run the real risk of finding ourselves in a meaningless avalanche of disconnected ideas. This book, therefore, sets out to perform a vital task – to extract coherence, not chaos, from this outpouring of intellectual endeavour.Following the Paris Agreement, many nations have revamped their carbon plans, climate change drafts and carbon reduction targets. However, most governments remain stuck on the same single track of promoting operational energy efficiency in buildings, seemingly reluctant to acknowledge that this ignores an essential part of the picture. More energy-efficient buildings may reduce energy use and carbon emissions in the long term, but without a parallel focus on embodied energy and carbon, the real savings that could be made right now are lost, often instead resulting in an increase in short-term impact. Without a holistic understanding of the data, a sincere estimate of the uncertainties and an appreciation of the impact of human behaviour – both of occupiers and of constructors – this is a gamble with the future of our environment.We hope, therefore, that we have succeeded in representing, within this one volume, a persuasive argument for the importance of including embodied emissions in all aspects of construction. The argument is constructed over the first three sections through the main areas of debate over the measurement of embodied carbon, the key concepts of its management and a comprehensive overview of the mitigation strategies being proposed and enacted. The final section acknowledges that there are geographical differences in both context and approach, providing an overview of the state of knowledge and practice across regions of the world.Correct understanding of estimates is an essential starting point in the embodied carbon debate. If we cannot agree on our numbers, the conversation is prevented from moving forward. The first section, therefore, includes three chapters dedicated to uncertainty analysis, each of which offers novel and diverse points of view on the topic. The section also features chapters on the embodied carbon of different structural materials as well as the inclusion of some uncommon variables in embodied carbon assessments, such as surface albedo.The management section is perhaps the most diverse in the book and the one with the greater interdisciplinary outlook. It features chapters looking at early design tools, others aimed at bridging the current gap between research and practice and some looking at the significance of life cycle stages often neglected in embodied carbon assessments as well as the identification of carbon hotspots.The third section on mitigation is the natural conclusion of the ‘embodied carbon journey’ offered in the book. In other words, now that we know how to quantify embodied carbon and that we have also learned how to manage it, how can we actually reduce it? The section features a diverse set of chapters, looking at novel opportunities offered by the principles of a circular economy, sustainable technologies and optimisation strategies at both material and building levels.Views from different regions of the world conclude the book, and we are very proud of the broad coverage we managed to achieve. This section includes contri- bution from Australia, a world leader in embodied carbon, Africa, North and South America, Europe and China. We strongly believe all chapters offer a stimulating learning opportunity for all those interested.We hope that this book will succeed in its aims: to educate and enthuse both practitioners and scholars, to provide a comprehensive starting point for the novel researcher in the field and to act as an essential reference source for everyone working on this topic. Most of all, we hope to have created a document that collates, connects and makes sense of the current state of knowledge and that identifies clearly the questions still to be answered.We believe that bringing together key researchers in this area has already started the process of creating a virtual global community highlighting and validating theirdifferent views while acknowledging the similarity of the challenges we are facing. We hope that both readers of and contributors to this book will return to their work with renewed spirit and positivity, in the recognition that together we form a strong, passionate community working together to create real change towards a low-carbon future