Dr Lee Jones, Head of Sustainability at Hubexo NBS, looks at why decisions surrounding upfront embodied carbon and lifecycle carbon reporting belong at the top of the project brief, not the bottom of the snagging list, in this guest article…
Carbon reporting has moved from the margins of construction practice into its daily rhythm. Three in five construction professionals now track embodied carbon using digital technologies, up from two in five just two years ago. For specifiers, contractors and product teams working on live projects, that shift is reshaping how decisions get made, who gets consulted, and when.
Upfront embodied carbon represents all emissions locked into building materials from extraction, manufacture, storage, transport and installation. While operational carbon can be reduced through better building performance over time, upfront embodied carbon remains fixed when construction completes. For energy efficient structures, it can represent as much as three quarters of total lifecycle impact.
The NBS Digital Construction Report 2025 confirms an industry-wide trend, spanning different project types and scales. Almost two thirds of professionals now use digital tools for energy and water demand assessment, nearly double the figure from two years ago. Over half the industry has adopted digital analytical tools, up from one third in 2023.
Tracking hidden carbon
This boost in uptake enables faster, more consistent and more accurate measurement of sustainability metrics. The real value lies in its timing. Early design decisions determine the majority of a building’s environmental footprint. Tracking upfront embodied carbon from project inception delivers the greatest impact, enabling project teams to avoid expensive late-stage redesigns when carbon intensive specifications need changing.
The regulatory landscape is accelerating this change. Possibly as early as 2028, upfront and potentially whole-life carbon assessments are expected to support delivery of Carbon Budget 5, making carbon reporting crucial for meeting the UK’s net zero targets. The Government’s Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan make this explicit. Comprehensive carbon reporting across the project lifecycle is expected to become the norm. Lessons learned from the EU, where carbon reporting has already been mandated, support this approach.
Getting ahead of mandates
Early adopters are already gaining competitive advantage. As clients increasingly demand environmental transparency and accountability, the ability to track and report carbon data has moved from being a ‘nice-to-have’ to becoming business critical. Those treating digital reporting of carbon data as a strategic asset are positioning themselves ahead of regulatory requirements.
Accurate tracking depends on quality data inputs. Environmental Product Declarations provide comprehensive lifecycle assessments, but they can be complex; varying scopes and units make meaningful comparisons difficult. Digital platforms help by processing vast amounts of technical information and structuring data for comparison. While human expertise remains essential.
Construction professionals must interpret this data within project contexts, balancing carbon reduction measures against performance requirements, cost constraints and programme demands. Understanding carbon assessment methodologies, defining competency standards and normalising data for meaningful comparisons are becoming fundamental professional skills.
Standardisation is key to unlocking this strategic advantage. NBS has introduced a new lifecycle carbon assessment platform, NBS LCA, developed with BDP and Circular Ecology, which brings generic and manufacturer-specific carbon data into one place for everyday design work. It is consistent, industry-wide approaches like these that will enable professionals to make better informed carbon choices and support the sector’s net zero transition.
Building competitive advantage
Nearly 90% of construction professionals agree that digital technologies have a positive environmental impact. Yet while digital measurement capabilities are impressive, technology alone will not deliver the change.
The decision to track upfront embodied carbon must be made at project inception, when design judgements determine the environmental footprint. Those professionals embedding carbon assessment into early-stage workflows, supported by quality data and expert interpretation, are laying foundations for responsible construction. Competitive advantage will belong to teams who get on the front foot now, before the regulatory clock catches up with them.
