Embodied carbon data within construction - are we opening Pandora's box?

Data is overwhelming. Carbon data is no different. Does an overwhelming amount of embodied carbon data present more questions than answers? Carbon data is presented in two different ways – quantity-based and spend-based.

When looking at the data, the first challenge is often a question of how we get the data to the right and relevant part of the organisation. Then, once the data starts to filter down to other areas of the business, it can become somewhat of a Pandora’s Box: do we need to know all this financial data? Who should be able to access it? How do we process and manage the data internally? What else can we do with the data? Do you attribute carbon factors to other charges? Do you attribute carbon factors to everything? Is there anything you should exclude?

Another challenge is around the methodologies used, with careful consideration required around provenance and confidence of the data. The minority of the carbon data available is quantity-based, yet it offers more accuracy and more transparency in relation to reporting. We will discuss how companies can overcome the challenge of obtaining more accurate, quantity-based data, and how the industry can support each other. We will also discuss applied examples of how companies are rising to this challenge.