Consultation launched on tool to help architects avoid carbon-intensive products

A consultation on the first international standard for reporting carbon emissions across all areas of construction has been published.

The aim is that it will allow designers to identify and avoid carbon-intensive products in favour of more sustainable materials to help the UK reach net-zero targets by 2050.

New international cost management (ICMS) reporting standards will seek input from industry on how to make sure carbon emissions are factored directly into the decision-making that goes into planning construction projects.

ICMS, which is being developed by a coalition of nearly 50 organisations, will urge professionals to report levels of carbon emissions for projects to clients.

Following the consultation, the final ICMS standards are expected to be published in November followed by updated RICS guidance on carbon assessment – which will set out a universal methodology for calculating carbon emissions. This will then be used to allow decision makers to minimise the carbon footprint of all construction projects.

RICS has also led a group of construction sector bodies in the development of an emissions database for logging the climate impact of all construction projects in the UK.

Under development by RICS in partnership with the RIBA, BRE, CIOB, CIBSE, UKGBC, ICE, IStructE and the Carbon Trust, the new built environment carbon emissions database will allow architects and other consultants to log construction projects when ready later this year.

The database will give an indication of how much carbon has been emitted during the manufacturing and construction process, along with future maintenance, energy use and demolition.

Download consultation document here