Carbon Counting – Steps towards a British

Standard?Hywel Davies

CIBSE Technical Director

Presentation OutlineCurrent standardisation activityOther carbon counting activitiesWhat are we really trying to standardise?What are we really moving towards?

Current Standards ActivityBSI, CEN and ISO are working on standards

related to carbon emissions from buildings and their component materials and systems

• BS PAS 2050 – measurement of embodied greenhouse gases in products and services

• ISO – various sustainable construction standards

• CEN - Sustainability of construction works• CEN – Strategic energy management forum

PAS 2050• Being developed jointly by Carbon Trust,

Defra and BSI• Aims to “develop an agreed method for

measuring embodied GHG emissions which can be applied across a wide range of product and service categories …to enable companies to measure the GHG related impacts of their products and reduce them.”

• Carbon and GHG specific

International Standardisation

Organisation• ISO/ TC 59/ SC 17 Building construction:

Sustainability in building constructionHas been working since 2003 to develop a set of standards covering environmental and sustainability aspects of construction.Adopts a broad view of environmental aspects – not just looking at carbon

ISO TC59 SC17 - Sustainability in Building

Construction• ISO TS 21929-1 - Sustainability Indicators - Part 1:

Framework for the development of indicators for buildings – being developed into a full standard

• ISO TS 21931-1 - Framework for methods of assessment for environmental performance of construction works – Part 1: buildings

• ISO 21930 (FDIS) Environmental declaration of building products

• – ISO TR 21932 Terminology• – ISO DIS 15392 general principles

Other relevant ISO work

• ISO TC 207 /SC3 and /SC 5 - Environmental management – ISO 14000 series of standards

• ISO TC 205 - Building environment design• ISO TC 163 - Thermal performance and

energy use in the built environment

CEN TC 350 – Integrated Performance of Buildings

Committee has a mandate from the Commission to produce standards covering the performance of buildings. Although the mandate is primarily concerned with environmental performance, the committee is keen to extend its scope to health, comfort and whole life cost as soon as possible.

Proposed CEN standards for sustainability of construction

works• Framework for assessment of building• Assessment of environmental performance of

buildings – Calculation methods• Environmental product declarations – Product

category rules (on products, processes or services)

• Description of the building life cycle

CEN CENELEC Joint working groups on Energy

ManagementActivity arose from earlier work within CEN on the need for standards for energy management. Initially included work items included in the EPBD standards programme. After input from CIBSE and BSI a scaled down plan of work was adopted. A BSI committee, SEM/1, was established earlier this year to manage UK input

CEN/CENELEC Sector Forum Energy

Management (SFEM)Task Force 189 (TF): Energy Management and related services

Project Team (PT): Energy Management Systems

PT: Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) TF 190: Energy Efficiency & Savings Calculations

PT: Bottom-up calculationsPT: Top-down calculations

CEN/CENELEC Sector Forum Energy

Management (SFEM)• Proposed New Task Forces for:

– Green certificates, – White certificates, – Benchmarking, – Conformity Assessment

Other Carbon Counting activities

Energy Performance in Buildings Regulations• All buildings: domestic, non-domestic; new, existing• Statutory assessment of energy performance;

including but not limited to carbon emissions• Rating based on energy performance as a proxy for

carbon emissions• Implemented via statutory accreditation of energy

assessors via schemes, eg. CIBSE Certification Ltd.RICS and others

Summary of activities• 4 strands of standardisation (at least)• ISO well advanced on a general framework for

environmental impact measures• CEN developing standards in response to a

mandate – possible standstill on national efforts

• BSI developing the PAS on carbon• Energy Certification is rolling out now

So what?• Development of a range of indicators and

measures covering carbon and other environmental impacts

• Potential overlap• Potential duplication of burdens on the industry• Potential confusion – remember carbon offsets?

What are we really trying to standardise?

• Carbon impacts or Environmental impacts?• Products? Systems? Whole buildings?• Cradle to gate, or cradle to grave? • Life cycle? When does life begin and end?• Impact of a building? Of what goes on in it?

Of how people get to it (to work on it or in it)

So what are we moving towards?

• BS?

• ISO? • BS EN?

• Energy Performance Regulations?

• Clarity or Chaos?

• Perverse or contrary incentives?

Thank you for listening

Any questions?