Abstract
This chapter outlines the challenges associated with measuring embodied carbon, suggesting there are significant inconsistencies with embodied carbon figures and benchmarks globally, making it difficult to determine if a building is performing ‘well’ or ‘poorly’. It describes the factors influencing this inconsistency, including functional unit area definition, building classification, lifecycle inventory method, building-scale lifecycle carbon methodology, scope and geographic context and demonstrates these through a comparison of published embodied carbon figures both in Australia and globally. In undertaking this analysis, it makes a case for a more consistent and complete methodology for measuring embodied carbon, a methodology which is used to determine the benchmarks and targets found in this book, in Chap. 4. Finally, it concludes by looking at the different strategies available to the design and development team to reduce embodied carbon in buildings, and the challenges associated with achieving ‘net zero embodied carbon’.
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Prasad, D. et al. (2022). Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment: Measurements, Benchmarks and Pathways to Net Zero. In: Delivering on the Climate Emergency. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-6371-1_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-6371-1_3
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