What is “Whole Life Carbon”?
Whole Life Carbon (WLC) is a robust and rapidly evolving methodology in the assessment of construction projects.
The functional objective of WLC is to quantify the through-life carbon emissions of all facets of the scheme and to identify and develop solutions that have the lowest embodied and operational emissions.
WLC replaces the standard practice of focusing only on operational emissions. It is a positive step towards achieving true net-zero in the construction industry.
Information
WLC One-Pager by LETI
Learn the fundamentals of WLC with this one-page guidance publication from the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI).
ONE PAGER →LETI Embodied Carbon Primer
Learn more about Embodied Carbon and how project teams can deliver on ambitious embodied carbon reductions.
LEARN MORE →Climate Change and Energy
Explore the UK government's official portal for latest communication and publications on climate change, energy policy, and net zero.
VISIT GOV.UK →Circular Economy
Circular Economy is essential to enabling net-zero in the built environment. Learn more about the latest developments in the Circular Economy component of the London Plan.
LEARN MORE →Settings
RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment
The 1st Edition to RICS WLCA mandates a whole life approach to reducing carbon emissions within the built environment. The document offers interpretation and implementation of EN 15978 methodology.
VISIT THE RICS WEBSITE →The WLC Methodology: BS EN 15978:2011
The BS EN 15978:2011 is the current UK standard for conducing Whole Life Carbon assessments. The document includes key guidance, procedures, and calculations for the assessment of environmental performance of construction projects.
VISIT BSI SHOP →RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment for the Built Environment
RICS WLC Assessment →Use Cases
Case Studies
Explore the UK-GBC library of case studies for ambitious built environment projects - WLC, net zero, climate change, and more.
EXPLORE CASE STUDIES →Emerging WLC Templates
Whole Life Carbon is being rapidly adopted across the UK's construction industry. Explore the key evidence templates being applied into practice today.
GLA WLC TEMPLATE →Get your opinion heard
Whole Life Carbon is a platform for the entire construction industry, in the UK and abroad. We keep track of the latest publications, debates, and events pertaining to whole life guidance and net zero. Please get in touch if you have any enquiries, or opinions to share.
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