ECA
Supply chain advantage Whether for lighting or M&E products in general, contractors who can obtain and present relevant product CO2e can: • Differentiate themselves with clients and buyers, showing they are ‘embodied carbon aware’ • Advise on, influence or even make procurement, design and installation choices based on the data • Relay (and win kudos for) any reductions in product CO2e achieved by their manufacturer. And as we’ve seen with lighting, manufacturers do have routes to cutting M&E embodied carbon. These include: lightweighting product design, sourcing closer to home, and producing with less carbon intensive materials and/or less carbon intensive (usually electrical) energy. CIBSE’s TM65/TM65.2 guides are simplified and practically useful standard methods for estimating product embodied carbon. Paul Reeve CEnv is Director of CSR at ECA and a member of EDA’s product sustainability labelling group.
keen to share the embodied carbon in their products and TM65.2 makes the calculations easier and more relevant to lighting, while also sidestepping the many complications of full product life cycle assessment. Key lighting manufacturers have produced useful new information – eg describing the marked CO2e product difference between using newly produced and recycled aluminium. Other important features in TM65.2 include calculating CO2e for luminaires and how to account for control gear. Carbon comparisons The new ability to readily assess embodied carbon in lighting should allow better industry comparisons, while manufacturers will be more incentivised to pursue lower product CO2e, eg by using higher recycled aluminium content. In tandem with ECA’s pragmatic advice to ask manufacturers for the information they need, TM65.2 also points out that while a budding lighting designer might instigate a CO2e assessment for a new project, manufacturers must gather and produce the basic data covering materials, processes, locations and transport.
‘Embodied carbon equivalent’ (CO2e) refers to the carbon dioxide and any other greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced carbon emissions. While all products have an embodied carbon footprint, particularly ‘carbon intensive’ materials for M&E include steel and aluminium (these usually require significant carbon- intensive energy to produce). products. It is based on emissions from the energy required to extract and transport raw materials as well as those from manufacturing/assembly processes. Embodied carbon is a part of what’s known as Scope 3 (value chain) Embodied Carbon * ‘Embodied carbon equivalent’ (CO2e) refers to the carbon dioxide and any other greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced when sourcing and making
when sourcing and making products.’
ECA Northern Ireland Region, contact Alfie Waterson T: +44 (0)7971 141911 - E: alfie.watterson@eca.co.uk www.eca.co.uk
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