Major environmental hurdles remain in meeting 2019 'zero-carbon' target

The British Council for Offices (BCO) launches Whole-Life Carbon report to help office sector rise to new environmental challenges

  In preparation for tighter environmental legislation on office design, the BCO has today launched a Whole-Life Carbon Footprint Measurement And Offices report to increase understanding of the growing relevance of measuring the energy efficiency of buildings from a whole-life carbon[1] perspective.
  The report is launched at a time when, in the current difficult financial climate, it will be those buildings that have a strong whole-life carbon rating that will attract occupiers keen on minimising running and refurbishment costs.
Produced by the BCO’s Environmental Sustainability Group, it highlights the need to place a greater emphasis on considering embodied carbon to help reduce the overall carbon footprint of existing and new office buildings. An issue that is also being forced through by new legislation which will shift the balance from management of operational to embodied emissions.
The European Directive CEN TC 350² will require Member States to legislate so that new buildings are designed in adherence to this whole-life approach. Over the next few years, all private office buildings over a certain size will also have to display Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), designed to strengthen commitment to CO₂ reduction.
Richard Kauntze, Chief Executive of the BCO, said:

“The environmental performance of the UK’s office stock is a pivotal issue for the BCO and through this report we aim to demystify the concept of whole-life carbon measurement.“There is an increasing connection between operational and embodied carbon emissions that developers, designers and tenants need to be aware of. This connection is born out of legislative demands but also environmental best practice, in which we encourage the office sector to lead.“We hope the Whole-Life Carbon Footprint Measurement And Offices report provides guidance to all elements of the office sector so that companies are well placed to take advantage of opportunities that arise out of this evolving environmental landscape.” The report reveals that out-of-town air-conditioned offices have the highest carbon impact of all office types, and that the largest single contributor to whole-life carbon emissions is from in-use emissions.
The BCO’s Whole-Life Carbon Footprint Measurement And Offices report encompasses:

• Methodology and issues – details on the methodology criteria to calculate the whole-life carbon footprint of a building in accordance with CEN/TC 350. The report identifies commuting as a fifth measurement category, as this can account for up to 35% of a building’s whole-life carbon footprint.
• Examples –comparing the whole-life carbon footprint of different office types, including central London, air-conditioned offices; regional city, air-conditioned offices; regional city, non-air-conditioned offices; and out-of-town business park, air-conditioned offices.
• Conclusion – highlighting the key findings, such as Central London offices have the highest whole-life carbon rating in connection to emissions relating to a building’s component. materials, construction and occupation, but they have the lowest whole life carbon footprint in relation to their economic output.

Almost one-fifth of the UK’s operational carbon emissions currently come from commercial and other non-domestic buildings, but this level is higher once embodied carbon has been factored in. To download the BCO’s Whole-Life Carbon Footprint Measurement And Offices report, visit the BCO’s website (www.bco.org.uk).