Current projects

Embodied and whole life carbon

Purpose

Develop an industry-led approach for reducing embodied and whole-life carbon in new homes aligned to emerging government policy. 

Context

As the homes we build become more energy efficient, increase their use of heat pumps, and as the grid decarbonises, the embodied carbon in the materials we use becomes more important. 

 

As government considers its policy approach to embodied and whole-life carbon in new homes, the sector needs to better understand and consistently measure its whole-life carbon footprint. 

 

Ultimately, a consistent approach to measurement and an industry-wide baseline will help inform a long-term roadmap, underpinned with supporting targets, for industry to reduce its embodied carbon footprint. 

Priority for 2026


The Hub continues to engage with all key partners to help coordinate delivery of the Net Zero Transition Plan for the new homes sector. This serves as the strategic ‘north star’ and the Hub has convened a cross-sector Embodied Carbon and Resource Efficiency Board to ensure all iniatives are sequenced to meet long term decarbonisation goals.


The priorities are: 

  • Establish consistent measurement: Encourage voluntary measurement and disclosure of upfront and whole life embodied carbon assessments from developers – at both an individual home design level and whole development project site level. 
  • Collect more data to improve benchmarks across both dwellings and development site infrastructure, and identify the pathway to setting industry supported targets for voluntary uptake. 
  • Identify resource efficiency opportunities and scale up market-ready solutions that reduce embodied carbon and enhance business performance across the new homes sector 
  • Engage with manufacturers and the supply chain to ensure that EPDs and relevant default assumptions are increasingly available to support mainstream disclosure. 
  • Knowledge sharing and capacity building: Through the WLC Community of Practice, the Hub focuses on disseminating best practices, peer-to-peer learning, and building the necessary sector skills to carry out carbon assessments and low-carbon designs

Resources


Embodied Carbon and Resource Efficiency Board


The Embodied Carbon and Resource Efficiency Board (ECREB) brings together key stakeholders — including government bodies, developers, homebuilders, supply chains, and other industry participants — to facilitate the reduction of embodied carbon and improve resource efficiency in the design, construction, and whole life of new homes and developments. 


The group is co-chaired by Fergus Harradence, Department for Business and Trade, and Bukky Bird, Group Sustainability Director for Barratt Redrow. 


See our blog post.


Submit an expression of interest to join the Embodied Carbon and Resource Efficiency Implementation Groups.

Whole Life Carbon Community of Practice


The Whole Life Carbon Community of Practice, chaired by Brian Johnson of Miller Homes, brings Hub members and associate members together every three months to share progress and take input. 

 

Working groups comprised of developers, manufacturers and whole life carbon experts have been convened to identify and keep up to date the background data sources and tables needed to feed into the tool and method and identify the assumptions and conventions for new homes.  


Please email us if you would like to get involved in our Community of Practice and working groups.

Benchmarking the sector 


The Hub is calling for all members to start measuring to the WLC Conventions and sharing a selection of their projects to enable us to benchmark the sector more accurately. 

 

For more details about exactly which tools you can use, how to submit your data and how we will use and protect your data, please see our Benchmarking: Embodied and whole life carbon page. 

Timeline