Last edited 25 Nov 2021

Upfront carbon

Zero carbon building, Performance standard, Version 2, Published by the Canada Green Building Council in March 2021, defines upfront carbon as: 'The embodied carbon emissions caused in the materials production and construction stages (stages A1-5) of the life-cycle before the building begins to be used.’

Improving Consistency in Whole Life Carbon Assessment and Reporting, Carbon Definitions for the Built Environment, Buildings and Infrastructure, Version ‘A’, May 2021, published by WLCN, LETI and RIBA, states: ‘‘Upfront Carbon’ emissions are the GHG emissions associated with materials and construction processes up to practical completion (Modules A1-A5). Upfront carbon excludes the biogenic carbon sequestered in the installed products at practical completion.’

NB Life cycle modules are defined in BS EN 15978 and PAS2080 for infrastructure.

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