Life cycle assessments involve analysing and quantifying carbon (or carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e)) emissions associated with a building and its constituent parts over its whole life. The process helps to determine ‘whole life carbon’ emissions, and identify the best way to reduce them.

Assessing buildings’ carbon emissions can be complex, so our approach to life cycle carbon analysis is detailed and compliant with RICS and British Standards. We consider both direct emissions and embodied carbon, otherwise known as Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions per the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

Ambitious whole life carbon reduction

The carbon reduction strategies we identify will meet legislative requirements, such as national and local planning policy. However, we typically encourage clients to exceed those objectives and target an enhanced percentage reduction or full compliance with certification assessment methods (e.g. BREEAM and LEED).

As well as reducing the environmental impact of developments at design stage, we review whole life carbon emissions ‘as built’. That additional analysis enables us to see whether the constructed building has met the design intent.

We also routinely apply lifecycle carbon assessments to help organisations identify indirect emissions (Scope 3 emissions) from their overall value chain. These often feature as part of company reporting for financial reports, Science Based Targets (SBT’s) and sustainability reporting frameworks such as CDP, GRESB and REEB.