January 25th, 2024
The Low Carbon Building Initiative (LCBI) has launched its European whole life-cycle carbon methodology and certification scheme for low carbon buildings in eight countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. It represents a major advancement in standardizing carbon measurement and promoting decarbonization in the European real estate sector.
LCBI: A Unified Approach to Measure Building Carbon Footprint
The real estate sector, responsible for nearly 39% of global CO2 emissions, is crucial in the battle against global warming. To meet the 2050 carbon neutrality goal, European countries must reduce the carbon footprint of all buildings—new, retrofitted, and in-use.
Initial efforts focused on lowering energy use in existing buildings and transitioning to carbon-free energy. However, accurately measuring carbon emissions at every life-cycle stage—production, construction, operation, and demolition—is essential for a comprehensive climate impact assessment of buildings.
To date, a unified European method to understand and compare building carbon footprints has been lacking. Addressing this, the LCBI has developed a unique methodology to measure building carbon footprints across their entire lifecycle, with limit values, basis of a certification scheme for low-carbon buildings. This method aligns with major European standards and tools (Taxonomy, Level(s), CRREM, RICS).
Publicly available on LCBI website, this unified European methodology simplifies the quantification and comparison of building carbon footprints, fostering decarbonization across Europe.
