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Getting to True Zero
Carbon in the
Built Environment
Pei Ya Boon
Sustainability Manager,
Arcadis
To meet the Paris Agreement objectives, the built environment
sector needs to reach net-zero emissions across all activities
in the building and construction system. Systemic change needs
to happen to reduce both operational and embodied carbon.
This includes the wider adoption of circular economy principles
and nature-based solutions.
Above: Triodos Bank, a reconstructable office building in Netherlands
Have you ever walked past a construction site and marvelled
at the amount of material piled up at the site waiting to be
used? Or thought about how far the material could have
travelled to get here? Or going beyond that, all the work and
transport needed to extract the raw materials for manufac-
ture into products like cement and steel in the first place?
Each of these stages requires energy consumption which in
turn results in the production of greenhouse gas emissions.
These carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions that
are released during the non-operational phase of a project
are known as ‘embodied carbon’. This includes the afore-
mentioned manufacturing and transportation phases but
also the construction, maintenance, repair and end of life
phases. These emissions contribute around 11% of all global
energy-related carbon emissions and 28% of building sector
emissions 1 . In Singapore, where the lifespan of buildings is
shorter due to urban renewal, embodied carbon emissions
could be higher at up to 40% of building sector emissions 2 .
Moreover, as building operations becomes more efficient
and energy sources become greener, embodied carbon is
estimated to become the sector’s dominant climate impact
driver. For context, the built environment sector is currently
responsible for close to 40% of global energy-related carbon
emissions 3 .
With the latest IPCC report sounding the code red for hu-
manity that the window of opportunity for climate action is
fast closing, the built environment sector needs to acceler-
ate its efforts in contributing to a zero carbon world 4 . This
means decarbonizing the whole lifecycle of our built assets,
addressing not only operational carbon, but also embodied
carbon.
In Singapore, whilst there has been momentum on reducing
operational carbon, with the Building and Construction Au-
thority (BCA)’s super low energy program in place since 2018
and the country’s first new-build net zero energy building in
the National University of Singapore constructed in 2019, the
push for embodied carbon reductions is still in its nascen-
cy. Just like operational carbon, tackling embodied carbon
requires systemic change and is more complicated than
tackling operational carbon, given the multiple stakeholders 5
that need to play their part. For example, material manufac-
turers need to invest in research and development of new
low carbon materials and disclose the embodied carbon
footprint of their products whilst designers need to publicly
share life cycle assessment data and propose best practise
embodied carbon reduction measures, including implement-
ing circularity principles 1 .
Industry organizations such as the Singapore Green Building
Council and Urban Land Institute Asia Pacific have both re-
cently launched embodied carbon initiatives to help amplify
and unify industry action. Arcadis, with our sustainability
ambition to accelerate the transition to a net zero world in a
way that improves quality of life for all, is a signatory to both
initiatives. We are committed to supporting our clients in
their journey towards whole lifecycle decarbonization.
Our award winning 6 quantity surveying team recognizes that
quantity surveyors have the unique opportunity to expand
our current service of providing insight on cost drivers, the
estimated overall cost of a project, and the current state of
the construction materials market, to include the cost of em-
bodied carbon. Given the national and local embodied carbon
regulations in Europe 7 , Arcadis, as a global consultancy, has
experience in whole life carbon assessments of projects and
we hope to bring that service to more clients in Singapore
and the rest of Asia.
Transforming our built environment from the current linear
model to a circular one is also key to reducing embodied
carbon. The value of materials in buildings can be retained
through designing buildings dynamically and flexibly, a
concept known as buildings as material banks. An example
is Triodos Bank office in Netherlands, one of the world’s first
large-scale, 100% wood, reconstructable office buildings.
Materials were selected and planned with re-use in mind, and
as a building held together by screws, it is possible to dis-
mantle the building without producing waste. Arcadis led the
landscape architecture advisory, spatial planning, environ-
mental research and green building (BREEAM) certification.
Lastly, addressing impacts on nature has synergistic effects
with climate action and should always be considered. For
NIKE Wings Distribution Center in Belgium for example,
Arcadis advised on nature-based solutions to attain no net
loss for biodiversity. Arcadis provided consultancy for land-
scaping, biodiversity measures and biodiversity design. To
drive the wider nature positive agenda, Arcadis is also part
of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
(WBCSD)’s Nature Action Project, which is developing nature
positive roadmaps for various sectors, including the built
environment.
A true zero carbon future is one where all new buildings,
infrastructure and renovations are both net zero operational
and embodied carbon, just as envisioned in The World Green
Building Council’s 2050 target for the industry1. With the
adoption of circularity principles and nature positive mea-
sures, we can accelerate the transition to a more sustainable
future. Because there is no planet B.
Footnotes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront (2019) World Green Building
Council
In Focus: Is there an environmental cost from Singapore’s love
affair with en bloc sales? (2021) Channel News Asia
2020 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction. Glob-
al Alliance for Buildings and Construction
How the Built Environment Must Respond to the IPCC’s 2021
Climate Change Report (2021) Arcadis
The Building System Carbon Framework (2020) World Business
Council for Sustainable Development
Arcadis 2nd Consecutive Win as Quantity Surveying Team of the
Year at the RICS
Decarbonizing Construction: Guidance for Investors and
Developers to Reduce Embodied Carbon (2021) World Business
Council for Sustainable Development
Below: Nike Wings Distrubtion Centre, a no net loss for biodiversity project
in Belgium
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE COMPANY
Pei Ya is the regional corporate sustainability lead for Arcadis Asia.
She is responsible for translating Arcadis’ global sustainability
strategy into regional programs and goals. She drives Arcadis Asia’s
carbon reduction plan as part of Arcadis’ global net zero by 2035 goal
and supports Arcadis’ key business lines and client development
team in integrating sustainability into client solutions in Asia. Pei Ya
also supports the sustainability advisory team, helping clients span-
ning the real estate industry to the investment industry in sustain-
ability strategy development and sustainability reporting. Arcadis is the leading global design & consultancy organization for
natural and built assets. We maximize impact for our clients and the
communities they serve by providing effective solutions through sus-
tainable outcomes, focus and scale, and digitalization. We are over
27,000 people, active in more than 70 countries that generate €3.3
billion in revenues. We support UN-Habitat with knowledge and ex-
pertise to improve the quality of life in rapidly growing cities around
the world. Visit www.arcadis.com for more.
SPECIAL FEATURE: SUSTAINABILITY
GETTING TO TRUE CARBON ZERO IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT