Now that the Earth Day snowstorm is over – lets look at this grass-roots concept that all carbon people constantly reference.

Measurement is the bread and butter of good carbon management and measuring all the stuff that happens in your project’s whole lifetime is key to appreciating the true impact it makes.

1️⃣ The first image represents Whole Life Carbon according to RICS and defines some of the key terms people use when they refer to which “stuff” they are concerned with.
But to keep it simples – I’ve made 2️⃣ the second image, which explains this in common terms with some example approaches to attack the carbon in each section.

𝐈𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲:

🟣 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟 – 𝐔𝐩𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧:  As the name suggests, its what we consider is “written on the tin”. The carbon efforts that have gone into producing the asset including emissions from the construction work (e.g. fuel burned by cranes)

🟠 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟 – 𝐈𝐧-𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧: Once the asset is handed over to the owner, they will inevitably need to replace things and maintain things from time to time – new carpets, A/C repairs – its all in there.

🟡 𝐘𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟: This accounts for the carbon emissions associated with the owner’s 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 (yes, using water has a carbon impact too) to use the asset. This includes charging your phone to hot showers.

🔵 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟: When the asset and/or bits of it get too old, there is inevitably some effort needed to handle the 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞. The C modules include how the waste is extracted, moved to its final resting place, and how it is processed when it gets there.

🟢 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟: You will note that this is outside the Whole Life Carbon boundary. While it is less common that a carbon professional might be contracted to manage this area, it doesn’t make it any less important. This module accounts for 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲 – for example, over-production of self-generated power can support the national grid; selling your concrete waste can help someone else avoid buying new concrete. This is a place of Sustainability maturity, where today’s leaders are already on the hunt.

🌳 And Biogenic Carbon? Don’t worry about biogenic carbon 😁…