Unlocking sustainability: exploring RICS’ whole life carbon assessment (WLCA) standard
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Developed to provide continuity and reliability, while encouraging long-term thinking through reuse, recycling and redevelopment, the 2nd edition of RICS’ whole life carbon assessement (WLCA) in the built environment marks a revolutionary change in carbon measurements practices.
Supported by the Department for Transport UK and Zero Waste Scotland, the standard was updated by RICS and an author group of decarbonisation experts following feedback from over 1,300 comments collected through a public consultation.
Importance of WLCA for the global built environment
Using the WLCA standard, assessors can estimate the amount of carbon emitted throughout the life cycle of a constructed asset, from the early stages of development though to the end of life. It gives visibility to embodied carbon, operational carbon, and user carbon – something that is vital to carbon calculations and a unique feature of the RICS standard.
By giving visibility to the carbon cost of different design choices, the standard aims to help manage carbon budgets, reduce lifetime emissions and deliver a net-zero future for the built environment.
Who is it for and why use it?
Whole life carbon assessment 2nd edition will enable professionals to make prudent decisions to limit the whole life carbon impact of buildings and infrastructure.
This standard can be used by a range of professionals, from quantity surveyors, cost consultants and building surveyors to designers, engineers and environmental, social and governance consultants, enabling them to meet client demand by measuring and managing carbon emissions in a reliable and consistent manner.
Contractors and developers can use WLCA for a consistent reporting approach that will help them to deliver against both government and client demands for the measurement of embodied carbon, net-zero buildings and infrastructure.
WLCA can also give financial decision-makers such as investors, lenders and others a long-term view of cost and carbon throughout the asset’s life cycle, promoting sustainable and low-carbon building and infrastructure investments.
Alignment with existing carbon standards
WLCA 2nd edition is the world’s only comprehensive standard providing a whole life carbon methodology for projects and assets, allowing professionals to use it alongside their national and regional frameworks, and in conjunction with the International Cost Management Standards (ICMS) 3rd edition, ISO and EN standards. It is aligned with established environmental performance standards (such as EN 15978, EN 17472, EN 15643, and EN 15804) and is designed so that assessors are guided to conduct emissions estimates practically and systematically.
In the UK, RICS is part of a cross-industry group collaborating to develop the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard (NZCBS), which will set out metrics by which net-zero carbon performance is evaluated for buildings. The measurement of carbon emissions to meet the standard will be in accordance with the RICS WLCA standard, and the repository where the data is submitted and stored for benchmarking will be the Built Environment Carbon Database (BECD).
Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) has also referred to WLCA 2nd edition in their latest publication on “Embodied carbon of retrofits”. This and other testimonials and adoptions from entities like the ICMS and Transport for NSW show that the standard is aligned with decarbonisation pathways, national targets, and globally accepted reporting taxonomies.
How was it created?
First published in 2017, the WLCA standard mandated a whole life approach to reducing carbon emissions within the built environment. The new edition, authored by world-leading decarbonisation experts and supported by a global expert working group, has been revised extensively to reflect advances in professional practice and updates to legislation and regulatory requirements. It also includes a significantly expanded scope to include all built asset types including infrastructure.
Careful consideration of circa 1,300 comments collected through a public consultation provides assurance that the standard works for the whole industry. You can read more about the development process in the Basis of Conclusion.
