The role of carbon metrics in supporting built-environment professionals

Highlights Protecting the climate is an indispensable contribution to the conservation of the ecosystem. One approach is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be within planetary boundaries. The quantification, allocation, assessment and control of GHG emissions affect a variety of actors, for...

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Main Author: Thomas Lützkendorf
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ubiquity Press 2020-09-01
Series:Buildings & Cities
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal-buildingscities.org/articles/73
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author Thomas Lützkendorf
author_facet Thomas Lützkendorf
author_sort Thomas Lützkendorf
collection DOAJ
description Highlights Protecting the climate is an indispensable contribution to the conservation of the ecosystem. One approach is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be within planetary boundaries. The quantification, allocation, assessment and control of GHG emissions affect a variety of actors, for example, manufacturers, planners, designers, clients, investors, contractors, facility managers, policy-makers, regulators, environmental economists, etc. To be effective, these actors need indicators to measure and influence GHG emissions associated with the creation and operation of the built environment. This editorial introduces the special issue and considers the creation and use of a coherent set of carbon metrics across different scales: construction products, buildings, neighbourhoods, cities as well as building stocks. Of particular importance is the agreement of clear terms, definitions, system boundaries and calculation procedures. Questions about scalability and aggregation are addressed as well as methodological issues associated with the use of biomass, a fair approach to budget-sharing and the design of emission balances including compensation options (e.g. offsetting and sequestration). Complementing the carbon metric approach is the development of a scalable carbon budget to determine the allocation of GHGs to a specific context: building, neighbourhood, city or building stock.
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spelling doaj.art-a31a39d9a01e4702b4f75f7cf340ebf92023-09-03T02:05:34ZengUbiquity PressBuildings & Cities2632-66552020-09-011110.5334/bc.7344The role of carbon metrics in supporting built-environment professionalsThomas Lützkendorf0Centre for Real Estate, Chair for Sustainable Management of Housing and Real Estate, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, KarlsruheHighlights Protecting the climate is an indispensable contribution to the conservation of the ecosystem. One approach is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be within planetary boundaries. The quantification, allocation, assessment and control of GHG emissions affect a variety of actors, for example, manufacturers, planners, designers, clients, investors, contractors, facility managers, policy-makers, regulators, environmental economists, etc. To be effective, these actors need indicators to measure and influence GHG emissions associated with the creation and operation of the built environment. This editorial introduces the special issue and considers the creation and use of a coherent set of carbon metrics across different scales: construction products, buildings, neighbourhoods, cities as well as building stocks. Of particular importance is the agreement of clear terms, definitions, system boundaries and calculation procedures. Questions about scalability and aggregation are addressed as well as methodological issues associated with the use of biomass, a fair approach to budget-sharing and the design of emission balances including compensation options (e.g. offsetting and sequestration). Complementing the carbon metric approach is the development of a scalable carbon budget to determine the allocation of GHGs to a specific context: building, neighbourhood, city or building stock.https://journal-buildingscities.org/articles/73buildingsbuilt environmentcarbon budgetcarbon metricscitiesgreenhouse gases (ghgs)life-cycle analysismitigation
spellingShingle Thomas Lützkendorf
The role of carbon metrics in supporting built-environment professionals
Buildings & Cities
buildings
built environment
carbon budget
carbon metrics
cities
greenhouse gases (ghgs)
life-cycle analysis
mitigation
title The role of carbon metrics in supporting built-environment professionals
title_full The role of carbon metrics in supporting built-environment professionals
title_fullStr The role of carbon metrics in supporting built-environment professionals
title_full_unstemmed The role of carbon metrics in supporting built-environment professionals
title_short The role of carbon metrics in supporting built-environment professionals
title_sort role of carbon metrics in supporting built environment professionals
topic buildings
built environment
carbon budget
carbon metrics
cities
greenhouse gases (ghgs)
life-cycle analysis
mitigation
url https://journal-buildingscities.org/articles/73
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