Setting the Carbon Footprint Criteria for Public Construction Projects

This paper describes a method for controlling the growth of the carbon footprint of buildings during the preparation, design and procurement stages of construction projects. The process utilizes prevailing cost estimation techniques. As an outcome, new indicators for carbon efficiency and carbon economy of buildings are proposed. They have been developed together with the city of Espoo in a research project that included carbon footprinting of existing buildings and arranging an architectural competition for a low-carbon public building. Both carbon efficiency and economy seem to offer flexible opportunities for an integrated comparison of the environmental and economic sustainability of buildings.