Advances in data centre design and delivery | Jaimie Johnston MBE | Autodesk University 2024

From there it goes to the people who might approve the building, or the people constructing the building.

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?.

The UK has established ambitious targets to reduce carbon by 2050.I think the kinds of projects we get involved with [at Bryden Wood] are really interesting - the areas that we look into, the DfMA aspect of things.

I think as an engineer it presents a greater challenge.I think this company challenges the architects to push the envelope a bit more.

We don’t just go with the standard tried and true designs.We have to be stretched to prove something will work, which obviously makes it more challenging.