STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS 65
CRACKING THE CARBON CODE
Stephen Callow of MPA Masonry unpacks a report from the Future Homes Hub which challenges assumptions about timber and masonry’s carbon impact and highlights the need for balanced, evidence-led solutions.
T
he Future Homes Hub (FHH) recently published its report focused on Embodied and Whole-Life-Carbon for new homes. ‘Embodied and Whole Life Carbon of Future Homes Standard Options’ paints a comprehensive picture of the two most common building materials and their relative carbon impact on dwellings, both up-front and operational. he report is very fair in its refl ection of the data studied, with some reassuring and positive news for the industry as a whole. Comparisons on timber vs. masonry options give a broadly similar outcome, with two signifi cant headlines of: “There is no silver bullet when it comes to reducing embodied carbon of new homes” and materials “having broadly similar upfront and whole-life embodied carbon impacts.”
This dispels the long-held perception that timber homes are the low carbon option when looking at fabric choices. This new analysis of the data shows that previous claims of a 20% carbon reduction from building in timber made by the Climate Change Committee can be dispelled. It makes clear that there’s no ‘timber’ bullet for low carbon housing.
OFFERING GREATER CLARITY As always, the devil is in the details, and the FHH is keen to point out that the data can always be improved upon, and industry will continue to support this. The MPA is committed to publishing a comprehensive set of EPDs for masonry products, further improving the accuracy of their data.
Much of the modelling done by the FHH is pulled directly from their own LCA tool. Launched in 2024, and updated many times over the last 18 months. The tool has had signifi cant industry support since its inception. The ability to look at any dwelling type and model homes within the conventions of the tool gives the industry a head start in understanding the carbon make up of the properties we build.
THERE IS NO SILVER BULLET WHEN IT COMES TO REDUCING EMBODIED CARBON OF NEW HOMES
Also, as the report makes clear, there are ‘low hanging fruit’ that the industry can focus on to bring down the embodied carbon of dwellings. Work continues at pace in both the Future Homes Hub and through market suppliers to reduce the carbon impact of materials.
It’s important to recognise that this isn’t the end of the task. The road to net zero is a long one, and one which all parts of the housebuilding industry will need to focus on for many years to come.
STEPPING UP THE CHALLENGE The masonry industry is making signifi cant efforts to reduce the up-front embodied carbon of its products. With renewed interest in Building Regulations
Part Z, up-front carbon is set to become a key metric in the future. he measure fi rst, regulate later mantra from industry peers such as FeildenCleggBradley Studios’ Tim den Dekker (who is, in fact, the co-author of Part Z) is one embraced by the mineral products sector. his is refl ected in the sector level EPDs available for other materials within the housing sector, not just masonry products.
The UK concrete industry isn’t just measuring, it is acting, achieving a reduction of its direct and indirect carbon emissions by 53% since 1990. This decarbonisation rate, faster than the UK economy as a whole, shows that concrete is playing a vital role in the
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