A free Building Materials Carbon Calculator has been developed to analyse the embodied CO2 in a building.
The tool, developed by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management, is billed as a valuable aid to the construction industry, as it works towards a zero-carbon future, and designed to help architects, builders and developers gain a clearer understanding of the environmental impact of their projects at concept stage.
Richard Tipper, centre director, said the calculator was developed in response to large numbers of enquiries from the construction industry which wanted to analyse the carbon content of the materials used in building.
In a two-bedroom semi-detached house timber joists store CO2 and so would remove 0.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The concrete foundations and slab would be responsible for releasing 2.9 tonnes into the atmosphere.
The calculator’s software also encourages users to reconsider the materials they select in order to reduce carbon footprint.
For example, replacing brickwork and glass wool used in external walls with timber cladding over a Panelvent board and cellulose wool insulation could save five tonnes of emissions.
The calculator, in the form of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, can be downloaded from www.eccm.uk.com.
