Guidance on greenhouse gas accounting and reporting

Nearly 80 per cent of CO2 emissions produced in London are from buildings. Construction works, and particularly refurbishment, is therefore a central focus of the Mayor’s Climate Change Mitigation and Energy strategy.

Retrofitting London’s existing buildings is not only crucial to tackling London’s CO2 emissions, it also reduces energy and water use, delivers new jobs and skills, as well as saving London businesses and homes money on energy bills.

The Construction Scope 3 (Embodied) Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting Guidance is aimed at helping professionals working within the construction industry to better understand and account for the embodied greenhouse gas emissions associated with construction; for example, those emissions relating to the extraction of raw materials and manufacture and transport of products used in new build and refurbishments.

A survey conducted to inform the development of this report found no consistency in the data sources, tools or methodologies used to calculate embodied emissions. 90% of construction industry professionals responded to a survey stating that they would benefit from better guidance and support.

In response, this report is framed as a series of recommendations, accompanied by supporting information. If followed, these will improve the ease and consistency of the accounting and reporting of embodied emissions within the construction sector.