Developers should embrace the embodied carbon challenge, and look at reducing whole life emmissions, argues Neil Pennell, Head of Sustainability at Land Securities.
Those of us working in the property industry have a responsibility to mitigate the disruption we
cause to the environment, and embodied carbon is a neglected issue that we really
need to start focussing on.
Embodied carbon in a building context refers to emissions resulting from the manufacture, transport
and assembly of materials. It is distinguished from operational carbon, which encompasses all
emissions resulting from the use of a building such as heating, cooling and lighting.
Whilst operational emissions have been prioritised by developers and campaigners alike in the past,
proper measurement and reduction of whole life carbon is the only way to ensure that the property
industry makes a meaningful contribution to global efforts to protect our environment.
There are two key reasons why developers should prioritise embodied carbon.
Firstly, the levels of emission reduction possible during the building process would take far longer to
achieve in an operational context. On one of our projects we identified that by retaining,
refurbishing and extending the main structure of a building rather than demolishing it and
rebuilding, we saved the equivalent of 15 years of operational carbon emissions of the whole
development. Encouraging all employees to switch the lights off whenever they leave a room will
make a difference, but this difference is usually insignificant when compared with the reductions
that occur when eco-friendly materials are sourced and assembled responsibly.
Secondly, when it comes to embodied carbon, we as developers are often solely responsible for
effecting change. Whilst most developers, including Land Securities, do their upmost to encourage
tenants to use our buildings in an eco-friendly manner, there’s no guarantee that they will.
Therefore, it’s crucial that at the planning and construction stage, we seize the opportunity to design
efficient buildings and deliver them in an eco-friendly manner.
So what are the challenges associated with reducing the impact of embodied carbon and what can
be done to overcome them?
At the end of last month’s Embodied Carbon Week, attendees were surveyed as to what they feel
are the pressing issues at hand.
Changing the industry’s attitude to embodied carbon in the absence of forth-coming legislation was
flagged as a key challenge. One might add that more could be done across society as a whole, and in
certain sections of the press, to encourage awareness of the risks associated with carbon emissions.
A perception of low carbon initiatives as expensive and excessively complex was also frequently
identified as an issue.
Clearly, those of us in the sustainability sector need to do more to push the issue of carbon
emissions up the political and social agenda, whilst at the same time making it clear to those within
the property industry and our clients that low carbon buildings can be cost effective and
manageable.
Many of those surveyed stated that whilst they would like the Department for Business Innovation & Skills, Department for Communities and Local Government, and local authority planning
departments to do more to champion embodied carbon reduction, this is unlikely. Rather, it was
suggested that those of us working in the industry are required to take the lead.
At Land Securities, we strive to lead by example when it comes to reducing carbon emissions. The
installation of photovoltaics, ground-source energy systems and hydrogen fuel-cell technology
across our portfolio highlights our commitment to this cause.
These initiatives must also be seen in the context of our broader dedication to reducing the negative
environmental impact of our projects and improving the local communities in which they sit.
