ER86 SESOC Top Tips for Low Carbon Design (2024)

Project description: The building and construction sector accounts for 15–20% of Aotearoa New Zealand’s total carbon emissions. About half of these emissions are associated with embodied carbon and are directly impactable by structural design. To meet Aotearoa New Zealand’s net-zero carbon targets and respond to new carbon reduction regulations, it is essential that structural engineers can design and specify lower-carbon systems and materials for buildings. However, there is a lack of country-specific guidance about how to implement low-carbon structural design.

Led by the SESOC Sustainable Design Task Force, combining expertise from Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland, Mott MacDonald, Holmes Group, Beca, Aurecon and HERA, this research project will be by practitioners for practitioners. Using knowledge from engineering teams already designing with low-carbon practices, it created an actionable and accessible guide on embodied carbon specifically for Aotearoa New Zealand designers. It also includes an interactive map of existing local and international embodied carbon structural design resources. The freely available guide and map will be living documents that can be updated with new research and technology developments. Targeting residential and smaller-scale commercial buildings, the intent is to maximise potential carbon reductions and ensure more equitable information sharing across the industry. It aims to demonstrate good-practice principles in designing for lower embodied carbon to help structural engineers design better buildings for New Zealanders.