12/06/2025
Insights
Understanding what a whole life carbon assessment is can be vital if you are hoping to hit your sustainability goals. Our guide takes a deep dive into these appraisals, so please continue reading to learn more.
Whole life carbon assessments
Whole life carbon assessments are a structured approach to quantifying all the greenhouse gas emissions associated with a specific building across its lifespan. It shows a realistic picture of how a property will impact the environment.
What are the stages considered in a whole life carbon assessment?
Production
- Emissions released during:
- Raw material extraction
- Manufacturing
- Transportation
Construction
Emissions released during:
- Assembly
- Installation
Operation
Emissions released during:
- Use
- Maintenance
- Repair
- Renewal
End of life
Emissions released during:
- Deconstruction
- Waste processing
- Disposal
Beyond asset life
There are options for future carbon mitigation when you do the following:
- Sell the property to another individual or business to reuse
- Recycle its materials to use for another development
- Recover energy
What building types can have a whole life carbon assessment?
You can conduct a whole life carbon assessment for just about any property type, including warehouses, factories, blocks of flats or houses.
It is important for every landlord and developer to understand the true impact of a project, so we encourage whole life carbon assessments to be carried out no matter the building type.
Why are whole life carbon assessments important?
Whole life carbon assessments should be considered by all property owners, especially those who hold eco-friendly processes close to their hearts.
By taking time to complete an appraisal, you can make more informed decisions, optimise designs to include low-carbon materials, reduce an asset’s lifecycle cost and meet net zero targets.
How are whole life carbon assessments completed?
When you follow the RICS whole life carbon assessment 2nd edition guidance, completing one of these appraisals will usually follow these phases:
- Define the scope of the project
- Collect data on materials, energy use, transport, maintenance and disposal
- Complete a carbon calculation to quantify emissions
- Analyse and interpret the information to discover opportunities to reduce future emissions
- Report your findings
How can Eddisons help?
Whole life carbon assessments highlight opportunities for you to offset some of your property’s carbon emissions, and we pride ourselves on being a part of this journey. We can help with a number of stages, including the demolition and disposal or sale of a building.
If you are interested in utilising one of our services, please call 0800 051 2593 or complete the form below.
