The construction industry has a significant role to play in helping to minimise the overall emissions of greenhouse gases and our carbon footprint globally.
Construction accounts for around half of all energy and raw material use worldwide. In terms of the carbon footprint, construction would typically amount to around 20% of the entire carbon footprint for the whole country.
Therefore, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the construction industry could have far-reaching global impacts.
How Does Carbon Tracking Work?
Carbon tracking sounds quite complicated and high-tech but, in fact, is relatively simple. The basic principle is monitoring the amount of carbon emissions across the whole construction project from beginning to end.
This would include material extraction/production, transportation, construction, operation, demolition, and disposal.
The basic system for calculating a construction project’s carbon emissions is not overly complex. You basically have a set of values that have already been worked out for each material or method of transport etc that tells you what the GHG emissions are for that particular thing.
So, you get the GHG emissions rating for everything that is included in the project—all the materials, all the journeys via car you take, and all the work that is done—add them all up and that is the overall greenhouse gas emissions of your construction project.
The data for all this has already been predefined so you don't need to, for example, try and work out how much carbon emissions there are from a ton of concrete. You just look up the figure and use that, or the software does it for you.
Advantages of Carbon Tracking in Construction
There are a number of distinct advantages for those construction companies that choose to track their carbon footprint across construction projects.
Aside from the more lofty ambitions of trying to save the world, there are several benefits for the company itself.
For one, having clear data on carbon tracking is the sort of thing that reassures stakeholders they are dealing with a professional firm, it keeps the public happy and helps with investor relations.
It helps to have data on all key aspects of the business as the managers can start to see from a glance where wastage is happening or excess energy and labour are being spent on certain aspects of projects.
For example, if the carbon footprint was particularly high for say transport during the construction phase, this data alone may prompt a streamlining of the working process and ultimately improve productivity whilst driving down carbon emissions.
Having a construction business that is driven and informed by accurate data is a surefire way of remaining at the forefront of the industry, in a data-driven marketplace where information has become the new form of currency.
Furthermore, there is a clear advantage for construction firms that already use carbon tracking in terms of getting ahead of any upcoming regulations.
With construction accounting for around 20% of carbon emissions and 50% of energy usage in the world, it won’t be long before regulations on carbon tracking are widely accepted as the norm in most countries. Therefore construction firms who are already closely monitoring their carbon data will be able to get ahead of the game so to speak.
Which Phases of the Building’s Life Cycle Produce the Most Emissions?
Design—0.5%
Manufacture—35%
Distribution—0.1%
Construction—1%
Operation—63%
Refurbishment/Demolition—0.4%
As you can see, the overall operation of the building results in the largest proportion of emissions—at 63%—but the manufacture of the materials is certainly a significant component of the overall emissions produced—at just over a third of the total emissions.
From these figures, it is clear why it is necessary to closely monitor the overall carbon impact of the construction project, especially where it is related to the materials and the overall GHG emission data associated with their production.
Using Technology to Make Carbon Tracking Simpler
Thankfully there is no need for construction professionals to manually attempt to calculate all the greenhouse gas emissions for every component of their construction project—there is a wealth of carbon tracking software and calculation tools available.
These range from simple spreadsheet-based calculators to more advanced tracking and analysis software.
Some of the more popular carbon tracking applications include:
OneClick LCA
Emitwise
IBM Envizi
Diligent
Environment Agency Calculator
Delivering Net Zero in Use Toolkit
Of course, the relevancy of these tools will depend on the nature and scale of your business. For some, the basic calculator is all that will be needed to generate the data needed, whereas, for larger-scale operations, a more sophisticated software-based system may be more appropriate, with all the analytical tools and advanced functions available to automatically collect data and process it for you.
Your construction solutions manager can advise on which is the best way forward for your particular business needs.
What is the Future of Carbon Tracking and How to Implement These Systems Into Your Business?
At Lyon, we aim to provide construction businesses with not only the tools they need for success but also the right information to make well-informed decisions.
For an in-depth look into the various technologies used in carbon tracking, what the future holds and how to implement these systems into your own business, you can download our free tech guide for more detailed information on carbon tracking in the construction industry.
Contact Lyon Tech
At Lyon, we provide construction businesses with the state of the art technology to keep them at the top of their industry.
This includes everything from carbon tracking, cloud solutions, cybersecurity, operations monitoring, remote working, VoIP communications, virtual workstations, IT support, and a wide range of services that help construction businesses in the UK operate a streamlined and effective service.
If you have any questions about carbon tracking in construction or which systems would bring the most benefits and productivity to your setup, contact our friendly advisors today and we can have an informal chat about which options would be most suitable.
