58 Building Services Engineering l January/February 2024
Engineering a ‘whole life’ carbon roadmap
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n anticipation of the European Commission’s EU Roadmap for Whole Life Carbon, set to be published in April 2024, the European Federation of Consulting Engineering Associations (EFCA) has recently released a position paper which sets out why, and how, to tackle whole life carbon. EFCA’s proactive stance not only underscores its commitment to supporting the EU’s work, but also sends a resounding message from the engineering community, asserting the indispensable role of engineers in designing whole life carbon solutions. In this article, Franziska Mohr, EFCA’s Policy and Communication Adviser, explains how the engineering sector is poised to shape the EU’s roadmap for a sustainable built environment. A call to action The construction industry is a primary contributor to carbon emissions in the EU. In our efforts to combat climate change and achieve climate neutrality, it is evident that we need a transformative shift towards sustainability in the sector. A pivotal aspect of this paradigm
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change is the reduction of carbon emissions across the entire life cycle of a project. Historically, the industry has mainly concentrated on operational emissions during a building’s use phase, overlooking the wider impact of embodied carbon. Yet, carbon is a feature of every stage of a structure’s existence – entrenched in construction materials and integral to the construction process itself. Beyond the construction phase, the maintenance,
operation and eventual decommissioning or repurposing of structures form an important part of the life cycle. We need to reduce the overall carbon footprint and actively contribute to the global initiative to combat climate change.
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