Alongside Woodknowledge Wales and the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products, the Good Homes Alliance was pleased to deliver a new online tool which informs users on the embodied carbon implications of key decisions made as part of a new low rise housing development process.
The user-friendly ESECT tool has been created as part of the Welsh Government funded Home-Grown Homes project and delivered by GHA’s Richard Broad with support from Flavie Lowres (FIS) and team members and associates of Woodknowledge Wales, namely Gary Newman, Toby Maclean, Clara Koehler, Diana Waldron and David Hedges.
Why is the tool needed?
Embodied carbon can account for up to 50-70% of the emissions of a building over its life cycle and is growing in importance due to improvements in operational energy efficiency and decarbonisation of the grid.
The focus for this tool is largely on ‘upfront carbon‘ (A1-A5, see adjacent diagram), the embodied carbon which relates to emissions from the material production, transport and construction phases before the building has been completed. These emissions have already been released into the atmosphere before the building is occupied and make up the majority of carbon impacts.
“Embodied carbon is a major contributor to total emissions, yet remains challenging to address. The ESECT tool is a practical resource for designers and developers to better understand and apply embodied carbon knowledge. Users will gain insights to help identify solutions early in the planning and design process and cut carbon from the start.” – Dr. Diana Waldron, Head of Built Environment, Woodknowledge Wales
Who is the tool for?
The tool is intended for use by development professionals and their consultants, with particular focus on supporting housing associations and local authorities, to assess opportunities to reduce embodied carbon without the need for detailed modelling and calculation.
The Welsh Development Quality Requirements (2021) encourages social housing providers to “assess and reduce upfront and embodied carbon”, and local authorites in England are adopting embodied carbon policies such as B&NES (Policy SCR8) and Bristol City Council (Policy NZC3).
How the tool works
ESECT offers a practical solution by enabling designers, housing associations, and local authorities to evaluate material choices and building systems before planning permission is sought. By providing insights into the carbon implications of various design options, the tool supports informed decision-making aimed at minimising environmental impact.
- A simple web-based tool for use at the very early stages of housing development. No downloads, logins or plugins required.
- Highlights carbon impacts, high carbon ‘hotspots’ and lower carbon alternatives.
- Little embodied carbon knowledge or experience of using life cycle analysis (LCA) tools required.
- Provides short guidance notes on embodied carbon and also flags up wider considerations such as circular economy and biodiversity impacts.
- Results displayed with a simple Low-Medium-High rating with an estimated upfront carbon figure (kg CO2e/m²) and percentage decrease against higher carbon options.
ESECT is part of a suite of tools developed through the Home-Grown Homes Project, which aims to promote the use of Welsh timber and sustainable building practices in the housing sector. By facilitating early-stage carbon assessments, ESECT contributes to the project’s broader goal of reducing the environmental impact of new housing developments in Wales, and beyond.