Whole Life Carbon Assessment for new-build affordable housing: A Case Study

This paper introduces a whole life carbon assessment (WLCA) of new-build affordable housing built in Scotland to modern building standards as part of the Scottish Government's Affordable Housing Supply Programme. The research was completed to understand the WLCA's comparative performance in a national and international setting, highlight data, process and performance compatibility with a leading whole life carbon standard and to identify key components for representative residential WLCAs. The assessment has been juxtaposed with 9 similar studies and the criteria of the UK Net Zero Building Standard pilot (NZCBS) and the differences analysed. The differences in the results illustrate the progress that has been made since the first assessment presented as well as the impact of regulatory and policy evolution. The findings suggest that the whole life carbon emissions produced by the new-build affordable housing case study exceed current industry benchmarks and limits, however that the WLCA lacks the comprehensiveness required by the NZCBS. The evidence postulates life cycle embodied carbon emissions as accounting for 81-92% of the whole life carbon emissions from the affordable housing tested. The findings support recommendations for further research to; enhance the representativeness of residential WLCAs; investigate impact of the ongoing decarbonisation of significant products in the WLCA; and to identify the impact of achieving data and assessment compatibility with the NZCBS.