RT-411

Addressing Decarbonization in the Construction of Capital Projects

Objective and Questions

The goal of this research is to identify practices and methods to track carbon in the delivery of capital projects. Note that the focus will be on materials manufacturing, transportation, and construction/installation. Raw materials extraction, facilities use/operations phase, and end of life are outside the scope of this research. The main questions to be addressed in this project include:

• Which metrics are most appropriate to track decarbonization, embodied carbon, and emissions? Do standard measures exist for installed quantities of materials, such as cubic yards of concrete, dia-inch of pipe, tons of steel, length of conduit or cable, etc.?
• What is the current approach for decarbonization in capital projects? Do we have a current threshold we are starting from? What are all the sources of carbon in a project – the primary (on-site), secondary (logistics, travel), and tertiary (manufacturing)? Do these processes vary in different types of projects? If so, how to account for the differences?
• Are there any design considerations and techniques we can implement that encourage decarbonization considerations during design?

Expected Outcomes

The main expected outcomes of this project include:

• A clear description of what decarbonization means to the capital projects industry
• A playbook, tool, template, or catalog to evaluate emissions sources
• A process to inventory and measure strategies for decarbonization in a project.

Expected (Business) Value for CII Members

Board members noted that this is a key topic for the future of the industry, and practices related to carbon performance may become as critical as cost and schedule in the future. Therefore, this topic is expected to address a key project delivery competency for both owners and contractors.

Launched 2023