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Whole life carbon assessments for industrial buildings
The logistics and transport industry is responsible for a substantial 28% of the UK’s total carbon emissions.1 To fulfil the UK's 2050 net-zero targets, we must collectively take action to decarbonise the built environment.
Every stage of construction impacts a project's carbon emissions. By assessing the entire carbon footprint of a built asset throughout its lifecycle, we can gain a comprehensive and accurate understanding of its carbon reduction potential.
Our design experts, Rachel Thompson, John Clayton, and Simon Bourke discuss the importance of Whole Life Carbon Assessments (WLCAs) and their significance to the industrial, logistics and distribution sector.
03 September 2024 | 3 min read
Rachel Thompson John Clayton Simon Bourke
What is a WLCA?
Whole Life Carbon Assessments should follow a modular approach for reporting, as shown in Figure 1. Each module accounts for all the emissions arising over the entire life of a built asset (Modules A – upfront, B – in-use and C – end of life carbon).2 Module D covers potential benefits and loads beyond the system boundary.
Figure 1: Modular structure for WLCAs2
Why do WLCAs matter?
WLCAs provide a holistic view of embodied and operational carbon, from design to construction to demolition. By taking an iterative approach to these assessments at each stage of development as the building design evolves, we can gain valuable insights into the carbon cost of design choices and pinpoint opportunities to reduce carbon effectively. It lays the foundation for making informed decisions and implementing measures across various aspects of the building and how it's operated, including enhancing the energy efficiency of heating, cooling, lighting, and material handling equipment (MHE), integrating renewable energy systems and considering material specifications, such as using recycled or less energy-intensive options, which serve as key reducers of carbon emissions.
Engaging architects, engineers, and sustainability experts from the earliest development stages ensures an integrated approach to addressing carbon considerations, paving the way to achieve decarbonisation targets for logistics building design. These collaborative efforts enable sustainable decision-making that optimises energy performance, manages carbon budgets, and supports a net-zero future from the outset.
Are WLCAs mandatory?
In 2022, the Greater London Authority (GLA) set a requirement to calculate and reduce whole lifecycle emissions for all referable planning applications, paving the way for other regions (Greater London Authority, 2024).3 Despite this progress and ongoing discussions for more stringent sustainability requirements (including Part Z – a new amendment proposed to the Building Regulations) WLCAs are yet to be made universally mandatory across the UK.4
The urgency to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and global carbon emission reduction commitments makes it clear that these assessments are not just beneficial, but necessary. Implementing mandatory WLCAs for all new and refurbished buildings would help ensure that all construction projects contribute to a sustainable future.
Stakeholders across the industrial, logistics and distribution sector, including investors and end-users, are increasingly demanding transparency and accountability in carbon management from developers and owners across the supply chain. They recognise that WLCAs are crucial to demonstrate and showcase this. To ensure consistency and uniformity in carbon assessments, industry leaders are advocating for a standardised approach to undertaking WLCAs and a prescribed methodology for assessing all carbon impacts. The adoption of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) standard, 2nd edition (2024) now provides a robust framework.5
BREEAM are also set to launch Version 7 of their New Construction Technical Guidance document later this year. The new version will address whole life carbon by introducing minimum carbon performance standards for achieving BREEAM ‘excellent’ and ‘outstanding’ ratings.6 This will enable users to measure and report on both operational and embodied carbon emissions, demonstrating to owners whether their buildings are on track for net zero.7
Practical application of WLCAs for industrial buildings
Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the 'typical' carbon figures for a UK Developer base build specification warehouse with a clear height of 18m, including external areas, taken at the technical stage of its design and considering a 60-year reference study period.
For industrial buildings, this assessment involves evaluating the entirety of the redline boundary and breaking down the carbon footprint into various categories. The summary in Figure 2 displays the significant portion of upfront/embodied carbon and operational carbon for buildings compared to end of life carbon. Typically, 55% of the carbon footprint is associated with the upfront embodied carbon (module A), and 43% is associated with in-use/operational carbon (module B).
Figure 3 presents a breakdown of the upfront embodied carbon (A1-A3), with concrete being, by far, the highest contributor with typically 30% – which accounts for the external yards, warehouse floor slab, foundations and in situ concrete to suspended office floors. The steel frame comprising a portal frame structure with hot rolled main members and cold rolled secondary steel purlins and cladding rails typically contributes 21%.
Understanding and identifying the hotspots of carbon can help provide targeted areas for improvement. The substantial contribution of concrete highlights the need to focus on using lower carbon concretes and/or reducing the amount of concrete that we use.
Figure 2: Module breakdown (%)
Figure 2: Material breakdown of A1-A3 (%)
It's important to remember that each client and logistics building is unique. Since WLCAs look at every aspect of a building's design, construction, and the complex MHE systems housed within them, ‘typicals’ leave much room for consideration and positive change.8 Some variables are unavoidable, and a lot can change over a 60-year timeframe. Therefore, it’s crucial to take a tailored approach to understanding whole life carbon for each project to ensure that solutions are designed to drive meaningful sustainable outcomes throughout the building's lifecycle and achieve the client’s aspirations.
The way forward
Implementing WLCAs at the earliest opportunity is paramount when designing, constructing, and operating industrial buildings. These assessments guide carbon consideration decisions and serve as a best practice tool to reduce carbon intensity for future generations.
From initial assessments at the key development stages that set benchmarks for reducing the carbon footprint of buildings to continuous monitoring and analysis throughout the building's lifecycle, WLCAs provide a realistic view of carbon impact and help shape effective solutions to reduce carbon emissions.
It is only when looking at the complete picture that you get the whole life story.
At RPS, we understand the pivotal role WLCAs play in sustainable design and construction. Our team of multi-disciplinary experts can guide you through each stage of the lifecycle to meet diverse project needs and ensure every decision aligns with regulatory requirements and clients' carbon reduction strategies.
1 The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, 2024. Route to Zero. https://ciltuk.org.uk/routetozero
2 RICS, 2024. Whole Life Carbon Assessment for the Built Environment, RICS Professional Standard, 2nd edition. https://consultations.rics.org/whole_life_carbon_standard/viewCompoundDoc?docid=13626324&sessionid=&voteid=&partId=13626932
3 Greater London Authority, 2024. https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/planning/implementing-london-plan/london-plan-guidance/whole-life-cycle-carbon-assessments-guidance
4Part Z, 2024. An industry proposed amendment to the UK Building Regulations, 2024. https://part-z.uk/
5RICS, 2024. Whole life carbon assessment for the built environment. https://www.rics.org/content/dam/ricsglobal/documents/standards/Whole_life_carbon_assessment_PS_Sept23.pdf
6BRE, 2022. How BREEAM is leading on decarbonisation of the built environment. https://bregroup.com/news/breeam-fight-climate-change
7RICS, 2023. New BREEAM to inform carbon-related decisions. https://ww3.rics.org/uk/en/journals/built-environment-journal/breeam-v7-embodied-carbon.html
8CIBSE TM 65.3:2024. Embodied Carbon in Building Services: Logistics Centres.
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