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New 'carbon calculator' helps building and construction sector account for embodied carbon

Jovi Ho
·3-min read

The calculator accounts for the upfront carbon of materials used and factors reflect the footprint in a local context, says JTC.

Singapore’s building and construction sector can now calculate the embodied carbon of projects with a new digital tool by JTC Corporation.

The Singapore Building Carbon Calculator is a web-based application developed by JTC in collaboration with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC). The calculator was launched on June 26 at the International Green Building Conference 2023.

The tool is free to use and available at carboncalculator.sg. According to SGBC, it allows for easy sharing of carbon data across project team members and helps export necessary information for Green Mark certification submissions. “It also provides the Singapore built environment industry with a unified tool to make informed decisions on material and product selections.”

The Green Mark certification scheme is a green building rating system designed to evaluate a building’s environmental impact and performance.

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The calculator accounts for the upfront carbon of materials used. In a first, carbon emission factors in the calculator are adapted to reflect the carbon footprint of projects in Singapore’s context, says JTC.

It also takes into account environmental product declarations from various programme operators, as well as the latest green assessment methodologies. In addition, the calculator applies life cycle assessments to fill in the gaps.

This allows sustainability consultants and Green Mark-accredited professionals to account for the embodied carbon footprint of projects for use under the BCA’s Code for Environmental Sustainability of Buildings (Edition 4.0) and the Green Mark 2021 Whole Life Carbon section.

According to JTC, the calculator builds on the previous Building Embodied Carbon Calculator (BECC), which was launched in May 2022 as an Excel spreadsheet.

The spreadsheet was developed by the NUS Energy Studies Institute, under a project commissioned by JTC in collaboration with BCA and SGBC. More than 1,000 downloads have been made since it was made available, says JTC.

Life cycle assessment

Environmental and health impacts can occur across a product’s life cycle, from raw material extraction or cultivation, through manufacturing, use and end-of-use management. The SGBP Certification Scheme looks at the whole life cycle of products to account for the full impact.

In the drive towards low-carbon construction, key construction materials, such as concrete and steel, will be assessed based on their carbon footprint and Global Warming Potential (GWP), says SGBC.

SGBC’s certification of these materials will require manufacturers to provide an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which is a standardised quantification of environmental information on the life cycle of a product, for each of their products.

To this end, SGBC is collaborating with One Click LCA, a global building life cycle assessment platform, to pilot a new Concrete EPD Generator in the Singapore market.

This digital tool will provide another avenue for local concrete manufacturers to obtain consistent carbon data, identify decarbonisation opportunities and generate accurate and verifiable EPDs, says SGBC.

New certification criteria

SGBC says green building services firms have developed deep and specialised capabilities, and have a strong track record in delivering excellent Green Mark projects.

To better reflect firms’ capabilities, SGBC has revised the certification criteria and categorisation of both the Environmental Sustainability (ES) and Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) categories for the Singapore Green Building Services certification scheme.

ES consultants will now receive tiered certification ratings to better profile their capabilities and expertise, especially if the ES consultants have proficiency in specific areas, such as energy modelling or decarbonisation strategies.

SGBC says this will make it easier for building and facility owners to identify the best consultant with the appropriate expertise for their project needs.

SGBC president Lee Ang Seng says all must recognise the urgent need to address climate change and reduce carbon emissions in the built environment. “Through our suite of initiatives and industry collaborations, we stand ready to empower businesses and drive the transition towards a low-carbon future.”

International Green Building Conference 2023, organised by SGBC, is running from June 26 to 27 at the Raffles City Convention Centre.

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