the concept of embodied carbon
DESCRIPTION
The Concept of Embodied Carbon. A Life-Cycle Approach. Technology Racing Ahead. Machines have replaced manual labor. 200 years of carbon emissions. CO2 – Where does it come from anyway?. Lifecycle Embodied Carbon. Embodied Carbon. Embodied vs. Operational. Embodied Carbon - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The Concept of Embodied Carbon
A Life-Cycle Approach
Technology Racing Ahead
Machines have replaced manual labor
200 years of carbon emissions
CO2 – Where does it come from anyway?
Lifecycle Embodied Carbon
Embodied Carbon
Embodied vs. Operational• Embodied Carbon
– Life Cycle Assessment– Construction Waste Management– End of Life Assessment– Materials Reuse– Recycled Content– Local Content
• Operational Carbon– Transportation to/from site– Energy Performance– Energy Metering– Commissioning– Renewable Energy, Green Power and Carbon Offsets
OFFICEWAREHOUSE
Life cycle carbon – Not one size fits all
75% operation75% manufacture
Life cycle carbon- improving operational energy performance
RICS Standard Methodology – UK to Int’l
Embodied carbon is about material use: Average % of materials in different building types (AUT case studies)
11
Source: Nick Deeks (2011) «Understanding the measurement of Carbon» at RICS Oceania Annual Sustainability Seminar 2011
Concrete and Steel represent major share of materials used in all building types = Carbon Hotspots
Product Construction Use End of life
Uncertainty
What is the exact
specification of the building
elements that will be
installed?
How much energy will be
used when transporting
and assembling the building materials?
How often will individual
elements be replaced?
Will the building be refurbished?
What will happen with the
building in 60 years?
Focus on what we know
Life cycle stages of a building based on BS EN 15978:2011 Ra
w m
ater
ials
sup
ply
Tran
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Man
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proc
ess
Use
Mai
nten
ance
Repa
ir
Repl
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ent
Refu
rbis
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Deco
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n de
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ition
Tran
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Was
te p
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Disp
osal
Reuse-Recovery-Recycling-potential
END OF LIFEstage
BUILDING LIFE CYCLEstages
BEYOND BUILDING LIFE CYCLE stages
Benefits and loads beyond the system
boundary
Operational energy use
Operational water use
PRODUCTstage
CONSTRUCTION PROCESS
stage
USEstage
SCOPE OF THE RICS
PAPER
Concept design - embodied carbon benchmarks
Detailed design - embodied carbon calculation methodology
Analysing the results
Motivation To Measure? Call to Action?
Rating Systems Surveyed
• New Building Rating Systems (Office)– LEED for New Construction v4 (4th reading)– BREEAM Europe Commercial 2009– DGNB New Office and Administrative Buildings– Green Star Office Rating v3
The Importance of Carbon in Rating Systems
LEED
BREEAM
DGNB
Green Star
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
54%
47%
35%
48%
Embodied Carbon as a proportion of Total Carbon
LEED
BREEAM
DGNB
Green Star
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
15%
34%
78%
19%
Best Practice – DGNB Ecological Footprint
The ecological footprint of the building is calculated over the life cycle of 50 years. Within the life cycle, all stages are taken into account: Product stage, construction stage, in-use stage and operation of the building as well as end of life stages
Best Practice – BREEAM Green Guide
Best Practice – Green Star Individual Materials
• Mat 6/7 Aim – To encourage and recognize the reduction of embodied energy and resource depletion occurring through the use of concrete/virgin steel
• Mat 9 Aim – To encourage and recognize designs that minimize the embodied energy and resources associated with demolition.
• Mat 10 Aim- To encourage and recognize designs that produce a net reduction in the total amount of material used.
Best Practice – LEED Waste Diversion
• Construction and Demolition Waste Management– Divert at least 75% of the total construction and demolition
material; diverted materials must include at least 4 material streams; OR
– Do not generate more than 12,2 kg of waste per square meter of the building’s floor area.
We will not reduce energy use in construction!
Two solutions to the problem
We can (probably) tough it out
HumansHomo Genus
But maybe not…
The Apollo Missions – 11 years, 17 flights
• Apollo Guidance Computer– .00004 GHz clock speed– 4 KB RAM
• 5x IBM 365/75– .01 GHz clock speed– 8 MB RAM
• Apple iPhone 5– 1.3 GHz clock speed– 1 GB RAM
The Apollo Missions – 11 years, 17 flights
• iPhone is 32,500 times faster and has 250,000 times more memory than the Apollo guidance computer
• iPhone is 26 times faster and has 25 times more memory than all 5 IBM 360/75 computers combined
When will we spend 170 billion
USD again?
Do we need 170 billion USD to change this graph?
Commercial solar cell efficiency today 14-19%
We’ll need to store energy
Thank you for your attention
Michael P. Smithing, FRICSLEED AP ID+C, BREEAM Assessor, BREEAM In-Use Auditor
Director | Green Building Advisory, Eastern EuropeColliers International
(+3630) 9214-219