26
ROUND TABLE REVIEW
GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO LEAD Architect Tim den Dekker said that mandating embodied carbon “was not something the markets can sort out; it needs Government to set the lead”
embodied carbon on individual existing dwellings of different sizes and nature within overall developments was challenging – however she warned against over-simplifying data reporting to counter this, if it risked “losing the quality of data.” Ellen Willis assured the group that from smaller projects, “a lot of the information is not hugely technical, and I have had the time to fi nd that information.”
Conclusion Our delegates confi rmed that we are a long way from being able to say that embodied carbon limits and reporting are becoming part of mainstream building delivery. Helping educate the sector on the benefi ts, including by growing ‘carbon literacy’ at round tables, and addressing misconceptions, is the fi rst step on the road to verifying embodied carbon and therefore create truly sustainable projects. As we approached the concluding recommendations for industry and government from the delegates, Simon Wyatt pointed out that Simon Sturgis (as RIBA’s Sustainability Futures Chair) had already made recommendations to the Climate Change Committee, including to adopt Part Z, but its likely fate remains hard to predict. He said that if the regulation does happen, “we’re going to be collecting a lot of data, and I’d like it to be available to everybody and not hidden or behind a paywall or hidden. The more data we have, the better decisions we can make.” The big takeaway from this session is that while the construction industry has organically developed a range of useful tools for embodied carbon reduction and reporting, the ball is fi rmly in the Government’s court for mandating the step change that is required. We hope the relevant Ministries will hear and listen to the insights from this expert group as they progress towards net zero.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INDUSTRY & GOVERNMENT
• Ivan Jovanovich, Atelier Ten: Treat it as an opportunity, and tax virgin materials.
• Will Arnold, Useful Simple Trust: A Ministerial statement setting out a timeline for embodied carbon reporting.
• Kirsty Girvan, UKGBC: If housebuilders are a barrier, let’s look at the commercial sector.
• Diego Padilla-Phillips, WSP: Disclose our designs’ Scope 4 emissions & a ‘Help to Buy Green’ Government scheme.
• Simon Wyatt, Cundall: Make the data availability publicly – it’s heavily used at stages one and two.
• Lee Cowen, Milbank Concrete Products: Better standardisation on EPDs and guidance from Government, and people held to account for the content; industry has to engage better with the supply chain.
• Ewan Duffi n, Harley Haddow: Prioritise maintenance budgets to look after what we already have
• Stephanie Baker, SEES (Sadler Energy & Environmental Services: Government to get some regulation out for data consistency and validity, and we need data to build on.
• Simon Sturgis, RIBA Sustainability Futures Group: A Ministerial Statement on whole life carbon reporting & the Government to do WLCA on all their own projects.
• Ellen Willis, Chetwoods: Government; introduce an imperfect regulation just to get it started. The industry needs to lean into uncomfortable conversations.
• Tim den Dekker, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios: Simplify and prioritise the ask – report whole life carbon but not limit.
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
ADF JULY/AUGUST 2026
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