Decarbonisation of the Built Environment: Using integrated life cycle and carbon emissions reporting

Abstract

The built environment sector must significantly reduce carbon emissions throughout the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and end-of-life stages. As decarbonisation targets and regulations are announced, construction professionals must implement workflows that allow stakeholders to make prudent decisions. The cost of decarbonisation is one such workflow that needs to be addressed so options can be compared and capital expenditure and operational expenditure decisions can be made. The International Cost Management Standard (ICMS) 3rd edition provides an integrated taxonomy for classifying, defining, measuring, recording, analysing, presenting, and comparing entire life cycle costs and carbon emissions of constructed assets at a regional, national, or international level. With the help of two case studies, the importance of internationally agreed standards to achieve decarbonisation targets and decarbonise the construction sector cost-effectively will be discussed. The discussion will also highlight the role of downstream experts such as quantity surveyors, facility managers, and project managers in the decarbonisation efforts. ICMS-based solutions support sustainable investment strategies by bringing much-needed transparency and cross-border comparability of embodied and operational carbon across the life cycle of construction projects. The use of ICMS benefits all construction stakeholders who wish to reduce carbon for compliance, market, and societal reasons and drive innovation in alternative designs and solutions.