Dr Francesco Pomponi of the Institute for Sustainable Construction has won a prestigious grant to research the embodied carbon of building structures – an issue that UK building regulations currently overlook. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) award is worth £125,000. 

“When we think of carbon emissions in buildings, we generally think about emissions related to the energy needed to run them,” explains Francesco. “We often forget about the energy and emissions related to all the other life cycle stages – from the extraction of raw materials and manufacture of building products right up until the dismantling of a building.”

The study will quantify the embodied carbon of the main structural materials used in building models representative of the UK’s building stock. By selecting specific materials for a particular model, it may be possible to mitigate the environmental impact of that built asset. Francesco hopes to produce new guidelines on materials selection for the construction industry based on the findings.

To ensure that the research has maximum impact where it’s most needed, Francesco has engaged three industry partners: Expedition Engineering, Cambridge Architectural Research and a World Green Building Council representative. “It’s important that the findings don’t just sit in an academic paper for the next 20 years”, he says.

Applying for an EPSRC grant is highly competitive. Having a strong research track record helps, Francesco says, as does consideration of the finest details. Francesco looked at the problem from all possible angles to build a watertight case for support. He also asked four Edinburgh Napier colleagues to peer review his proposal, to make sure it was clear, well written and to the point.

Francesco believes it is the project’s relevance to industry that played a key part in winning the EPSRC grant. Four of the five reviews of his proposal praised his strong industrial links throughout the project – not only in terms of industry input, but also the project’s eventual output for industry.

“The need for new guidelines is particularly urgent in my view,” Francesco says. “Building standards currently just tell people to build energy-efficient buildings from an operational perspective. But with the Paris Agreement and the Climate Change Act, the UK has strict carbon budgets to meet in the coming years. It is vital that we address carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of a built asset, not just when it’s in use.”

Dr Bernardino D’Amico is co-investigator and the EPSRC grant will fund a postdoctoral researcher.