Consultation: National carbon data for common construction materials in Ireland – deadline 5pm Fri. 30th December, 2022

Last year the IGBC began the process of creating a national database of emissions data of construction materials by launching an initial dataset that provides guidance on the generic average carbon emissions values associated with some of the most commonly used building materials. This data is intended to provide guidance where specific emissions data is not available for Whole Life Carbon assessments so that calculations are consistent and based on plausible data. The figures were published after commissioning a research report and conducting a public consultation process on the findings in June and July 2021. Click here to download excel of materials already published.

The overall aim is to ensure comparability of LCA ensuring that, in the absence of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), standard default figures are used by all for common materials. It is also intended to stimulate the market to provide more accurate figures through verified EPD either for specific products or for sectors.

With funding from the #BuildingLife project, this year we have been able to commission Circular Ecology consultants to deliver research into carbon impacts of more common construction products. Circular Ecology have a wealth of experience in this type of work, being the producers of the well used and referenced ICE database. The research for IGBC takes a similar approach but takes account of products’ availability and use in the Irish market wherever possible to find a weighted average for the national market rather than globally, making the results more relevant to the country.

Each product type has its own PDF explaining the background research and data sources that have gone into determining a generic national average figure as well as that figure being displayed at the bottom of the page: