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is why whole life carbon assessment is so important, as it encourages the fully integrated thinking necessary to get us to net zero, e.g., how to balance out embodied vs operational emissions as well as upfront vs life cycle impacts to achieve the lowest overall emissions.
Although formal reporting is based on post-completion measurement, clients will want early confi dence that their projects are on track to meet the relevant Limits which means carrying out predictive assessments throughout the RIBA design stages to make any necessary design changes as early as possible.
Why is it necessary to get your WLC assessments verifi ed by NZCBS? Ultimately it is about underwriting the value of your building. NZCBS verifi cation will: • cut greenwashing, i.e. ensure that actions taken to produce a ‘green’ building really do the job;
• build consistency in assessment and reporting, which will in turn:
• provide greater confi dence in reported outcomes and:
• enable like for like comparisons with other similar buildings;
• help improve in-use energy performance and, once WLC Limits are provided, better lifetime material effi ciency;
• help future proof asset value.
As noted, NZCBS is built on the foundation of the RICSPS (I was lead author). The RICSPS is mostly technical and covers assessment methodology, i.e. how do you reliably calculate both operational and embodied emissions and report them. Most practitioners will undertake WLC assessments using a software tool and have no direct connection with the RICSPS. There are several tools available, and it is worth checking that they are fully RICS compliant. Even so, I would recommend reading at least the fi rst three chapters of RICSPS which are short, very helpful and well worth having a look at. The RICSPS is a free download from the RICS website. The RICSPS standard is now recognised as the de facto UK assessment methodology, and is also now used internationally. Other recent guidance is the UKGBC’s ‘Whole Life Carbon Framework’ launched in May and can be seen as the ‘how to do it’ guidance. In essence the framework breaks down the actions required to reduce emissions into key ‘Delivery Principles’
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to be addressed over the life cycle, and practical actions required at each life cycle stage. Invariably there will be choices to be made; for example if you want, ideally, to achieve low ‘upfront’ carbon and low ‘in use’ carbon this is sometimes diffi cult as there can be carbon cost/benefi t trade- offs such as quantity/type of insulation vs energy performance, or the upfront carbon cost of a new facade vs in-use carbon costs of maintenance and replacement cycles. Rationalising these potentially confl icting requirements to achieve the optimum low carbon solutions requires good knowledge as well as practical experience. This is fundamentally about those involved in the design of buildings developing a carbon intuition which is where the architect or engineer has suffi cient experience to develop the right combination of actions to produce a low carbon solution before even attempting detailed calculations. So, what of Part Z? I am part of a group led by Will Arnold (and including Tim den Dekker, Julie Godefroy, Jannik Giesekam, Tom Hesslenberg and Ludovica Pototschnig) that has been working on an industry-wide proposal to develop a Building Regulation covering embodied and whole life carbon (see
part-z.uk). This initiative has gained a lot of enthusiasm across all sectors of the built environment industry with over 200 key supporters including consultants, client bodies, housebuilders, banks and many others. There has also been a debate, led by Ellie
Chowns MP, in the House of Commons. The problem seems to be that before such legislation can be enacted, signifi cant, supportive data needs to be collected. It is for this reason and the lack of government interest that the private sector needs to continue to take the lead. Even without Part Z, there is now a mature and robust set of standards as described above defi ning what to do and how to do it. Apart from those standards, there is a whole range of additional professional guidance from the RIBA, CIBSE, IStructE and others. If you want training in WLC assessment, CIBSE has a comprehensive course that is available. Two of the RICSPS authors (Jane Anderson and myself) were part of the team that put this together. Importantly the economic benefi ts of WLCA are becoming apparent. This is starting to manifest itself in improved resource effi ciency as well as the items listed above. Resource effi ciency is in effect the fl ip side of carbon effi ciency, and also leads to fi nancial effi ciency. Therefore among the many positive outcomes from WLC assessment are the climatic and economic benefi ts from engaging fully with RICSPS, the NZCBS and other supporting guidance.
Simon Sturgis is an architect and founder of Targeting Zero, member of the Construction Industry Council’s Climate Change Expert Panel, and lead author of the RICSPS Whole Life Carbon Standard
ADF OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2026
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