Design Solution · Materials Science
Design Solution · Dream about it
Specifying bio-based materials to reduce upfront embodied carbon.
A high proportion of specified materials (48% by the project's account) are bio-based or recycled, lowering upfront embodied carbon. Plant-derived materials also sequester carbon during their growth, offsetting part of the construction footprint.
Specifying bio-based and recycled materials is one of the few upfront embodied-carbon levers a design team can pull without restructuring the programme, and the claim that 48% of materials by value (or by mass — the record is not specific) are bio-based or recycled is a substantive target if genuine. The underlying carbon logic is correct: plant-derived materials sequester biogenic carbon during growth and carry lower manufacturing energy than most mineral or metal alternatives, though whole-life accounting requires care around end-of-life and the precise system boundary of the 48% figure. The record provides no EPD references, no bill of quantities breakdown and no independent verification of the percentage, so the claim cannot be interrogated or replicated. A specifier should require Environmental Product Declarations for the key bio-based materials specified, confirm that the carbon sequestration claimed complies with the methodology in RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment guidance (which treats biogenic carbon cautiously), and check that moisture management and fire performance specifications are confirmed for structural or semi-structural bio-based elements.
#bio-based #embodied carbon #circular