Net Zero Carbon Development Plan Document - Main Modifications 2023
9 Embodied Carbon
Policy NZC3: Embodied Carbon
New major development should demonstrate in the energy statement or design statement how the embodied carbon of the proposed materials to be used in the development has been considered and reduced where possible, including with regard to the type, life cycle and source of materials to be used.
Proposals for development of 50 or more new dwellings and/or 5,000sqm or more of new non-residential floorspace should be accompanied by a whole-life assessment of the materials used.
9.1 Through the implementation of policies within this DPD the operational emissions from buildings will decrease, and therefore embodied carbon emissions will represent a greater proportion of the overall carbon from a development. Embodied carbon emissions can be as much as 50% of total emissions over a building's lifetime.
9.2 Warwick District Council recognises the importance of embodied carbon and the complexities of the calculation methods for the whole-life assessment of materials. Consideration was given to scales of development which could support an embodied carbon assessment, and this has been included in viability testing accordingly. Assessment of embodied carbon is therefore applied to a major development threshold as set out in the The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) with more detailed whole life carbon assessments for larger scale developments.
Main Modification PMM20
9.3 The materials used in development should use and manage resources as efficiently as possible accounting for the energy, carbon emissions and other environmental impacts arising from construction and end of life demolition and disposal. Use of environmental assessment methods such as RICS, BREEAM or HQM pre-assessments with reference to the BRE Green Guide would be suitable as such a statement. Additional guidance in terms of the type and scope of embodied carbon assessments will be included in Supplementary Planning Guidance to support the DPD.
Main Modification PMM06
9.4 This policy supports and expands upon Local Plan policy DS3 through the consideration and assessment of the embodied carbon of building materials to reduce carbon emissions from new buildings to deliver a low carbon economy and support environmental sustainability. In addition, Policy NZC3 should be read alongside Local Plan policy CC3 as embodied carbon assessment is a consideration within the BREEAM Very Good requirement of policy CC3 for major non-residential development. BREEAM assessment credits relating to embodied carbon may be used to demonstrate compliance with Policy NZC3.
