Last week the Green Construction Board launched its interactive Low Carbon Routemap for the built environment.

A number of scenarios have been mapped including one which achieves the 80% reduction in CO2 emissions from our buildings by 2050 (when compared to 1990 levels). The map is downloadable as an excel spreadsheet sheet for all to have a go at some low carbon planning to see what they can achieve. The format is great, one can immediately see the effect of changing tack on say retro-fitting existing buildings with insulation.

What we find interesting is the section on capital carbon or the effect of de-carbonising our materials supply and delivery. A quick play with the spreadsheet seems to imply there is some 60 million tCO2 saving here…with CCS in materials alone playing the biggest role at 10 million tCO2.