They're used in different ways at different stages of a project, or in different ways by different users within a project..

By ensuring that every element of these crucial facilities is viewed as an integral part of the whole, and by optimising all of them together, we will continue to work with our clients to ensure that the future of this market is a positive one.What is operational carbon?.Operational carbon refers to the emissions of a building during its operation.

This includes regulated carbon emissions (heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and domestic hot water) and unregulated carbon emissions which include small power and plug-in systems.. What is embodied carbon?.Embodied carbon refers to the carbon emissions generated by a building over its lifetime, including the processing, manufacture and distribution of building elements, the construction itself, the use of the building, the end-of-life scenarios and opportunities for reuse and recycle.. What does net zero carbon mean?.Due to the growing pressure in the construction industry, many new developments claim they can achieve net zero carbon emissions.

In many cases, they refer to the possibility of achieving net zero carbon in operation only, which means that they do not account for the embodied carbon of the building over its lifecycle.A net zero carbon building is one that achieves both zero operational (regulated and unregulated) and zero embodied emissions.. Buildings should only be considered net zero carbon if the amount of carbon emissions associated with a building’s products/materials, construction stages, use (including operation) and deconstruction, is zero or negative.

This can be achieved via measures to reduce the use or the carbon of individual materials, the implementation of energy efficiency measures, the use of on-site renewables and finally a combination of carbon offset schemes and green Power Purchase Agreements (PPA)..

It should be noted, that for most new developments nowadays it is not feasible to become net zero within the possibilities of the design (energy and material efficiency measures), so the use of carbon offset schemes and PPA is essential.. Why should we focus on sustainable construction and net zero carbon?.That makes this a technology landing issue, rather than a technology platform issue.

In other words, what’s important here is where the construction technology lands, and why that’s effective.. On a broader level, this type of construction technology work relates to the current industry conversation surrounding the ecosystem of connected digital platforms that are starting to emerge in construction, with core connective pieces beginning to come together.These new software platforms are focused on stitching together other software products and allowing them to talk to each other in a particular way.

While there are lots of companies solving problems in isolation, asBuilt say it’s the work of aggregating the data and bringing it together, causing it to be viewable all at once, which will create the great unlock needed to transform the future of construction.. Lamont doesn’t believe this unlock is going to happen at client level, and says he doesn’t think the industry should focus its effort on chasing the people with the money to impart digitization.He’s also concerned about people focusing too heavily on potentially incidental uses of technology within buildings, which, he says, ultimately won’t contribute to solving the bigger picture problem.