Whole Life Carbon (WLC) Assessments are recommended for anyone aiming to minimise all the carbon emissions associated with their development.
SRE’s sustainability specialists work with clients to ascertain the embodied energy, as well as the operational energy load of a potential development. Workable solutions are then identified to reduce lifetime emissions.
WLC Assessments enable SRE’s clients to not only reduce the carbon emissions of the built environment but to take a lead in sustainable design and construction.
WLC Assessments are a key planning requirement within the Mayor of London’s New London Plan for both large-scale developments and the replacement of existing buildings. The Assessment can be linked with Energy and Sustainability Statements and Circular Economy Statements. SRE uses dynamic modelling and OneClick LCA software to complete the WLC Assessments and ensure the work is both accessible and transferable during the lifetime of a project.
Read more about Whole Life Carbon Assessments
WLC (Whole Life Carbon) emissions are carbon emissions resulting from the materials, construction and use of a building over its entire life, including the demolition and disposal. A WLC Assessment captures a building’s operational carbon emissions from both regulated and unregulated energy use, as well as its embodied carbon emissions. The Assessment also includes the potential ‘benefits’ from the reuse or recycling of components at the end of a building’s life-cycle. This provides a realistic picture of a building’s overall carbon impact on the environment. SRE works with developers, engineers and architects to design and build according to WLC principles.
Net-Zero carbon targets are increasing the emphasis being placed on minimising WLC emissions. SRE’s sustainability specialists calculate operational emissions and demonstrate how they can be reduced as part of our WLC Assessments. Calculating and reducing WLC emissions offer benefits including resource efficiency, cost savings from the reuse of existing materials and the encouraging of a ‘fabric first’ approach in favour of natural ventilation.
SRE completes WLC Assessments in line with the RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment for the Built Environment professional statement which guides the process from concept design stage to RIBA Stage 4. The Assessment utilises recognised industry software and inputs from IES VE modelling and SAP modelling to evaluate the life-cycle carbon content of site materials and M&E fittings over a 60-year lifespan. The assessment of the materials’ carbon emissions also includes the replacement of certain items in line with industry standards.
SRE uses state-of-the-art OneClick LCA software to enable our specialists to model the proposed development accurately and efficiently.