The carbon footprint has been raised as a key indicator of sustainable construction in Finland, like many other EU countries. The Ministry of the Environment is preparing a regulation to be issued on the basis of the Construction Act on the method of assessing the carbon footprint of a building. RT has produced information with which the method can be developed to be as reliable and functional as possible.
The evaluation of climate effects and low carbon is an integral part of many construction projects already today. The upcoming construction act has a new essential technical requirement for the building to be low-carbon. When applying for a building permit, it must be shown with a climate assessment that the building will be designed and built to be low-carbon.
It is intended to estimate the carbon footprint and handprint included in the climate assessment using the calculation method developed by the Ministry of the Environment. The presented method and its usability have been criticized by operators in the real estate and construction industry. The Ministry of the Environment has so far prepared several drafts of the calculation method, but the method has not yet been confirmed.
Background information on the carbon footprint assessment method
In its so-called KEKRI project (Sustainable criteria for evaluating the carbon footprint of buildings), RT has tested and reviewed the planned evaluation method in different ways. Using different versions of the calculation method, carbon footprints and handprints have been calculated in realistic construction sites, which have been varied with different frame materials, building technology solutions and heating methods.
The results have shown that the emission factors of energy production, the length of the calculation period and the heating mode are the most significant single factors in the calculation and significantly affect the carbon footprint of the energy consumption during operation. Building materials also have an effect on the calculation results, but not to the extent that is generally assumed. There is also a surprisingly small difference between different frame solutions.
We have also mapped in more detail the uncertainty factors included in the low-carbon assessment method, reliability in practice and applicability as part of the regulation. In addition, the setting of carbon footprint limit values, i.e. emission ceilings, by category of use has been examined.
The reports and calculations were produced for Rakennusteollisuus RT by Ecobio Oy and Vesitaito Oy. In addition, RT has commissioned a report on the carbon footprint of low-carbon building materials from Gaia Consulting Oy as part of the regulation. The report also looked at the carbon footprint and climate effects of wood construction when the reduction in forest carbon stores and sinks caused by the use of wood is taken into account.
Carbon footprint reviews of buildings, which have been done with the Ministry of the Environment's various evaluation method drafts
- The report of the first phase of the KEKRI project: Carbon footprint inspections of buildings in accordance with the Ministry of the Environment's assessment method draft YM 2019:22
- The updated report of the first phase of the KEKRI project: Carbon footprint reviews of buildings in accordance with the draft evaluation method in the statement of the Ministry of the Environment 6/2021
- Updated report of the KEKRI project: Presentation of the low-carbon evaluation method of the building in accordance with the draft regulation 9/2022 of the Ministry of the Environment's climate assessment
- KEKRI project report: Carbon footprint inspections of small houses using the Ministry of the Environment's low-carbon building evaluation method 6/2021
- Elucidation of the sources and level of uncertainty in the carbon footprint calculations of buildings using Monte Carlo simulation
Other reports and materials
- Cost optimality reviews of low-carbon comparative solutions
Report on the impact of different comparison solutions on the building's estimated carbon footprint and cost per ton of CO2 equivalent saved - The carbon footprint of low-carbon building materials as part of the regulation report final report ja summary of results
- Guide: Compliance, management and cooling of residential apartment buildings' summer interior temperature regulations
- The effect of the ease of solid wood construction on heating energy consumption
