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Royal Danish Academy of Architecture, Design and Conservation launches carbon calculator for materials and prefabricated elements.
Referencing the very familiar food pyramid that has successfully altered the diets of millions using a simple graphic , The Royal Danish Academy of Architecture, Design and Conservation last week launched their take on the food pyramid. But, their version allocates materials and several prefabricated elements a carbon debt (carbon calculator). Better yet, you can actually build your own pyramid with a bill of materials that captures your carbon debt.
Subscribing to the similar philosophy as the food pyramid, the closer your chosen material is the peak of the pyramid, the greater the environmental and ‘health’ impact.
The idea was to highlight the environmental impact of the most used construction materials, focusing on the analysis of the first three life phases: extraction of raw materials, transportation and manufacturing.
The digital tool (carbon calculator) makes it possible to compare the impacts of materials in different categories or between types of materials in the same category. This way, a specifier can be fully informed about each material or product specification decision in a project.
According to the Academy: “The goal is for it to provide a simple way to get a quick overview of the relative sustainability of individual construction materials.”
Through clear and intuitive language, it offers an interactive and tangible calculation tool and at the same time opens the dialogue on more detailed studies of the position of each material in the pyramid and its place in project design.
All items are evaluated from the information in their respective Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), which describes the possible environmental impacts of the material or product through standardised analysis and is developed by Life Cycle Analysis specialists.
See: materialepyramiden.dk/source
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