Understanding the Basics of Operational and Embodied Carbon

by brianflax | Dec 10, 2024
Understanding the basics of operational and embodied carbon banner

When you’re building a home, carbon emissions come from two main sources: operational carbon and embodied carbon. Understanding these terms is an essential piece to designing and building more sustainable buildings and reducing your carbon footprint.

When people think of carbon, most relate it to the CO2 emissions that are created when burning fossil fuels, like driving a car or heating a home with a gas or oil-powered heating system. While these are drivers of our changing climate, they are only a part of the problem.

The built environment across the European Union accounts for 40 percent of our total energy consumption, and over one-third of our carbon emissions, nearly 36 percent! Breaking it down even further, the embodied carbon within the built environment contributes up to 20 percent of our total emissions.

Why it’s Important to Understand the Difference Between Operational & Embodied Carbon

Understanding the differences between both operational and embodied carbon allows for a more comprehensive approach to reducing emissions. For example, embodied carbon is front-loaded, meaning the carbon is released before the building is even occupied. This gives us the chance to make an immediate impact on reducing emissions. Operational carbon is accumulated over time and can be mitigated in several ways, like installing energy upgrades to reduce energy consumption.

Both operational carbon and embodied carbon have a significant impact on our environment, and it’s a smart idea to consider both when designing and constructing both new build or retrofitting existing buildings.

What is Operational Carbon?

In very simple terms, operational carbon refers to carbon emissions that are generated during the day-to-day use of a building. This includes a wide range of activities like heating and cooling, lighting, running appliances and electronics. It doesn’t matter if the building is a commercial or residential space, all have operational carbon throughout the building’s active life.

Operational carbon can be reduced by installing insulation, replacing old heating systems with heat pumps, installing solar PV, switching to electric vehicles or HVO, or by simply running off lights when leaving rooms and turning the thermostat down a few degrees in the winter!

What about Embodied Carbon?

Embodied carbon is not as simple. It refers to the carbon footprint associated with the materials and construction of a building. This includes the extraction and production or the building material itself, such as cement, steel and insulation, the carbon from the transportation of these materials from the manufacturer to the building site, and the emissions from the actual process of building!

Embodied carbon is “locked in” from the moment the building is constructed and cannot be changed. That’s why it’s important to compare products and choose suppliers that are transparent about their embodied carbon and taking steps to actively reduce it.

How to Reduce your Embodied Carbon

Thankfully, there are ways to reduce the embodied carbon in building projects. Your first step is to look for products that have a third-party verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). These documents provide detailed information about a product’s environmental impact throughout its lifecycle. Make sure to look for EPDs that have been verified by an independent third party.

You can also choose products that incorporate recycled materials, such as EPS, reclaimed wood and recycled steel. Designing efficiently to reduce material waste, such as precise cutting or using modular construction methods are also good ways to optimise material use.

Education is Key

Once you understand the difference between operational and embodied carbon, the next step is to spread the knowledge to the rest of your team. Ensure project managers, architects and subcontractors alike are trained in sustainable practices and understand how to implement low-carbon strategies effectively.

Each step not only reduces carbon emissions, but can also lead to cost savings and improved project performance, aligning with sustainable construction trends.

You can learn more about how KORE Insulation is reducing the embodied carbon of our products by downloading our latest guide below.