Earlier this year we revealed how we, as a business, and the industry could help worldwide goals in achieving Net Zero Carbon. A huge part of reducing carbon emissions in the building services industry revolves around building Embodied carbon data. To build this knowledge, our environmental team have been beta testing CIBSE’s latest embodied carbon measuring tool, TM65.
What is TM65?
Everyone is beginning to see the benefits of reducing operational and embodied carbon within their buildings. Whilst operational carbon is relatively easy to model, embodied carbon can be a more complex matter; especially regarding MEP services. Whereas products such as ductwork can be straightforward to calculate, multi-component installs like switchboards or chillers bring a host of complications when calculating the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The tool, developed by CIBSE, aims to make it easier to measure the embodied carbon of MEP products used in construction. By understanding the embodied carbon of our installed products, changes can be made across the industry to ensure our installs are as sustainable as possible.
Our Involvement with TM65
As one of the few contractors invited to test the tool, we aim to create detailed embodied carbon data from construction-related products, filling a gap that has been hard to fill so far. This data will create an alternative option to EPDs where we can obtain embodied carbon data. We can also highlight changes that can be implemented at an early stage of construction. The data will help us compare the embodied carbon of those products that do not have an EPD, helping us highlight the changes that can be at earlier stages of construction.
Our team is currently curating information and running it through the TM65 tool, developing our understanding of embodied carbon figures with our supply chain. We look forward to sharing further insight at a later date.
Definitions
Operational Carbon – The amount of carbon emitted during the operational or in-use phase of a building. This includes the use, management, and maintenance of a product or structure.
Embodied Carbon – The CO2 emitted in producing materials. This includes extraction of raw materials; manufacture and refinement of materials; transport distribution; the building phase of the product or structure; use, maintenance and repair of the product and the deconstruction and disposal of materials at the end of life.
