The firms working across Leeds to push forward in the battle to reduce carbon emissions in construction

Embodied carbon is the total accumulated carbon generated by a building material, including manufacture, transport and installation, which, according to the World Green Building Council, accounts for 29 per cent of building-related emissions.

Leeds-based Nick Brown Architects is one firm working to reduce such emissions.

Senior architect Chris Walker noted how as well as firms developing these practices, the change is also becoming consumer driven.

“People’s aspirations are changing, when people look at buying a new house they want a nice bathroom and nice kitchen, but they also want to know that that building is cheaper to run, and that it's saving the planet at the same time,” he said.

The firm has worked on multiple projects in Leeds which were planned from the outset with reducing emissions in mind.

Both their Springwell Gardens and Ironworks developments use timber for their window frames and doors, which developers claim not only saves on energy use in the long term due to its insulating properties, but is also a more sustainable material to build from.

Timber products, which in the case of both Springwell Gardens and Ironworks were supplied by Norwegian company NorDan, are said to be more environmentally friendly due to the natural offsetting of co2 which happens when the trees are grown in order to create the company’s products.

NorDan claims that its product’s embodied carbon credentials are 50 per cent lower than PVC-U windows, and 25 per cent that of aluminium.

Another firm working to reduce these emissions is Citu, developer of Leeds Climate Innovation District.

Citu, another customer of NorDan, also uses timber for its building frames.

Jamie Keats, product owner at Citu, explained how the firm was aiming to reduce both embodied and operational carbon emissions.

“We try to drive sustainability by reducing carbon through the energy performance of our homes, which NorDan helps contribute to,” said Mr Keats.

“Citu builds low energy homes, so our windows, doors, and floors offer very high fabric performance, which means the homes need next to no heating - radically reducing energy.

“We also reduce the impact of transport by building in brownfield sites, predominantly in city centres, and developing car-free landscapes, challenging the need for and volume of cars onsite.”

Mr Walker noted how the biggest challenge in the push for sustainable practices to be brought forward is cost.

“When you say to a developer: ‘look, it's going to cost you more, but we need it to be more sustainable,’ it's hard for them to justify it,” he said.

“And it's hard to sell something that's a long term benefit when a lot of developments are based on short term gain.

“So I think it's about changing the mindset of residential developers both in Yorkshire and the UK, but I think by firms in Leeds setting their own standard, we’ll set the way.”