The Project Leader and Unembodied Carbon - Part 1
Categories:
embodied carbon
Categories: embodied carbon
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The term “built environment” is becoming a very popular way of describing the construction industry in broader terms. And the construction industry is undergoing a radical transformation. Why? Construction (or ‘the built environment’) accounts for an about 39% of energy-related CO₂ emissions when you combine operational use and embodied carbon from materials. What’s embodied carbon? When people talk about carbon in buildings, they usually think about the energy a building uses after it’s built — the lights, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning). But embodied carbon is different. It’s the hidden carbon footprint that comes from making, transporting, and assembling all the materials that go into a building — like concrete, steel, glass, and insulation. A big part of this is selecting materials – and you can have an effect on this! For project leaders and project managers, this places material choice squarely into the realm of strategic, long-term risk, schedule impact and value creation—no longer just a technical specification item. For example, as a project manager, we could be faced with a decision to use a cheaper material which meets our needs but would involve a massive amount of embodied carbon over a slightly more expensive material that has a much lower amount of embodied carbon. A project leader could make the strategic decision to (OMG!) choose the more expensive material for the trade-off it would have in terms of embodied carbon. That tough decision may become easier, thanks to technology and the availability of quality information about materials. It's there for you. For example, you can become familiar with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) which help you – or your procurement manager, with your encouragement – to make these decisions. Here’s a guide on EPDs from the US Environmental Protection Agency. My suggestion: bookmark that PDF, and read on. Low-carbon construction materials—such as geopolymer concrete, recycled steel, mass timber, and bio-based insulation—are moving from “nice to have” to “must have” – and it’s becoming more available. A recent market report (see references) pegged the global low-carbon construction materials market at US$66.2 billion in 2024, projected to reach US$79.2 billion by 2030. Why? Because regulation, investor pressure, ‘green’ demands from occupants of buildings, and material innovation are aligning. Simply becoming knowledgeable about this makes you a better project leader in the 'built environment' industry. But one often under-appreciated driver is the effect of international trade and (increasingly) tariffs. How materials are sourced, imported or produced locally can dramatically shift the business case—and that is a lever project leaders must master if they want to lead, not just react – and not be that project manager that is trudging along making one tactical (non-strategic) decision after another. What is causing this shift to low-carbon materials?
Tariffs also make third-party low-carbon imports more expensive, shifting attention to locally-produced, lower-transport-carbon materials. But local sourcing itself carries risks: domestic production may be less mature, may not yet have low-carbon credentials, and may suffer supply scarcity or premium pricing. asuene.com+1
What does this mean for those who want to truly lead – and not just manage – projects? Here are some of the many ways you can do this, aligned with the project management process groups:
In Part 2 of this blog post, I will provide an illustration of how this can work, a checklist for project leaders wanting to excel in reducing embodied carbon, and some tips on how AI can help you lead in this area. Stay tuned – that’s coming by the end of the month. References: |
