Spain’s 2030 Observatory of the Consejo Superior de los Colegios de Arquitectos de España (CSCAE), a business association for architects and contractors, and ClimateTrade, have developed a carbon footprint calculator for companies in the construction sector. This is the first step in helping the construction industry achieve carbon neutrality.
The application is the result of a partnership agreement signed between the CSCAE and ClimateTrade to jointly develop digital initiatives to fight climate change and achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the 2030 Agenda. The calculator is free to use and already available for the almost 200 members of the CSCAE’s 2030 Observatory, allowing them to calculate carbon footprint offset it through environmental projects in Spain and around the world.
Francisco Benedito, CEO and Co-Founder of ClimateTrade, comments: “This partnership is set to allow direct contribution to the SDGs via dozens of projects around the world which, through our marketplace, will provide full transparency on how funds are allocated. At the same time, it is important to offer SMEs and independent contractors this free carbon footprint calculator to help them realize their own environmental impact and quantify their footprint. Through simple annual company data, the calculator provides a summary of CO2 emissions, which can then be offset on the platform, making carbon neutrality easier.”
Ángela Baldellou, Director of the 2030 Observatory 2030 of CSCAE, adds: “With this new initiative, we can support our members and partners in their journey towards a more sustainable business model. We are delighted to have the participation of ClimateTrade, which has made the process more digital and more simple, providing companies with the environmental projects that will allow them to move forward with their social responsibility strategy towards a fairer, more sustainable world.”
The calculator is very easy to use: based on the standards of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the tool prompts the user to enter energy consumption and transportation data, and offers a summary and analysis of CO2 equivalent emissions across a full year. Once calculated, emissions can be offset on the platform, where the user can select the most appropriate mitigation projects and get access to their transaction history in their private account.
In Spain, buildings consume about 30% of the country’s total energy, and are responsible for 36% of national GHG emissions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that direct CO2 emissions from buildings need to be reduced by half, and indirect emissions from the construction sector cut by 60% by 2030 to meet 2050 net zero targets.
According to WorldGBC, the construction and demolition phases, as well as the material supply chain, represent between 10 and 20% of a building’s lifecycle carbon footprint. Making a lifecycle assessment of carbon emissions offers new perspectives for their decarbonisation. However, public policies that take these processes into account are also necessary to completely decarbonise buildings in the coming years.
To find out more about ClimateTrade’s sector-specific carbon footprint calculators, read our case studies or contact us.
