Making sense of the complex world of carbon

In 2008, we invited Simon Sturgis to speak at the inaugural World Architecture Festival in Barcelona about the relationship of embodied carbon to operational carbon in respect of buildings: the traditional notion that operational emissions were all that mattered was exposed as a myth. Energy analysis at the time was a blunt instrument, focusing on performance over construction and the production of materials and components. Simon not only showed this as a flawed approach, but also offered propositions for optimisation strategies to limit carbon generation over time.

A while later, a Technology Strategy Board discussion about carbon included a message that retrofitting of buildings needed to be promoted and celebrated in the public arena and In 2010 the Architects’ Journal launched its Retrofit Awards, benefiting from Simon’s support and advice as a long-standing judge. He is an admirable hybrid: a green (with a small ‘g’) activist and an architect with a profound interest in science and technology. The creation of his carbon consultancy SCP has seen a steady flow of research and proposition, all based on real-world analysis and scenarios, in which tricky territories have been opened up for holistic examination.

This book is a summary of much of that work. It has the passion of a manifesto, but avoids doctrinaire instructions. Much of the advice, which derives from case studies and measurement, should be taken up by anyone involved in significant construction activity. Carbon analysis needs to be understood in the round; it needs to embrace lifetime change (maintenance, repair, renewal) not just short-term outputs; it needs to acknowledge the changing relationship between embodied carbon and operational carbon emissions over time. It also needs to take into account the final stage of the life of most buildings: the most wasteful (demolition); a better option (recycling); or the best option (re-use).

The aspirations expressed in these pages are in the spirit of phrase, coined by RIBA president Sir Alex Gordon, that buildings should be ‘long life, loose fit, low energy’. This book re-interprets that clarion call, arguing for maximum life, maximum flexibility, maximum re-use and as close to zero carbon as we can get.

We live in an era of unprecedented scientific and technological discovery, yet paradoxically, we also find ourselves confronted with humanity’s greatest challenge: a planet that cannot replenish its resources, and a rapidly warming atmosphere that’s threatening multiple life forms due to fossil fuel burning and man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

The good news is that governments, businesses and citizens around the world have woken up to climate change, agreeing to transition to a very low carbon economy within the next thirty years. The challenge, however, is the speed of that transition.

Buildings are essential for the survival of humanity, but are also responsible for a staggering 30% of the world’s carbon emissions. This figure doesn’t include transport emissions or the industrial processes associated with product manufacture. So anyone serious about eliminating the climate change impact of the built environment must take seriously the notion of reducing whole-life carbon emissions.

UK Green Building Council’s (UK-GBC) vision is of a built environment that is fully decarbonised. As such, we will continue to advocate for embodied carbon to become a mainstream issue in building design, construction and maintenance. We believe that sustainable development must become second nature to the built environment industry. This will require carbon literacy, accounting and management to underpin every decision. Carbon is a currency we all need to be comfortable dealing in. Yet embodied carbon remains an elusive concept to even the most dedicated sustainability professionals – let alone the millions of built environment practitioners shaping our urban fabric every day.

It is high time that practical and comprehensive books such as this appear on the essential reading list of practitioners worldwide. Having worked closely with Simon Sturgis and his team on the refurbishment of the UK-GBC’s own headquarters in London during 2016, we were thrilled to achieve the lowest embodied carbon footprint of an office refit ever recorded in the UK. This can only be achieved through a meticulously rigorous and relentless focus on the carbon implications of every decision along the way – as exemplified in this book, through the calculation of embodied carbon at every stage in the RIBA lifecycle.

There is now no excuse to avoid taking corrective action. The clock is ticking on climate change, and with books such as this, we can equip ourselves with the knowledge and solutions to overcome. So let’s get on with it.

Paul Finch
Paul Finch is programme director of the World Architecture Festival and editorial director of the Architects’ Journal

Julie Hirigoyen CEO of UK-GBC