Targeting Zero

1Embodied, operational and whole life carbon

Overview

Carbon emissions from the creation of the built environment derive principally from energy used in the construction process. This largely means energy generated from fossil fuels, ie coal, oil and gas. Energy supplied from renewable sources, nuclear power and hydroelectric power does not generally produce direct operational carbon emissions. (It is, however, worth noting that the process of building, for example, wind turbines consumes a significant amount of energy, so the provision of wind power is not totally free of carbon emissions.)

Figure 1.01: Global energy consumption by country ...