PAS 2080 Carbon Management in Buildings and Infrastructure

The revised 2023 standard PAS 2080 Carbon Management in Buildings and Infrastructure, the world’s first framework for reducing whole-life carbon emissions, is a major turning point as it now includes infrastructure to help organisations take a whole-life view on carbon reduction.

PAS 2080 is a global framework that brings together organisations in the built environment to reduce carbon emissions. Its objective is to standardise the approach toward whole-life carbon management when delivering projects and programmes and provide a robust pathway to achieve the following outcomes:

• Align buildings and infrastructure projects and/or programmes of work, at the asset, network or system level, to the net zero transition by or before 2050, and therefore contribute to limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, as per Paris Climate Agreement 2015;
• Reduce carbon and increase value across the whole life of buildings and infrastructure; and
• Remove silos and create collaborative ways of working that promote innovation, encourage positive change for society and support economic development.

The standard has been developed by leading construction experts and associations such as Arup, the Institution of Civil Engineers, Mott MacDonald and many more in collaboration with the British Standards Institution (BSI).

Defining good carbon management

PAS 2080 clarifies to value chain members what constitutes good carbon management and the key enablers to drive whole-life carbon reduction. Businesses that can demonstrate they are ‘PAS 2080 Asset Owners/Managers will have a good organisational carbon management framework, fostering innovation, carbon and cost reduction.

Providing consistency

The PAS will ensure carbon is consistently and transparently quantified at key points in infrastructure delivery, enabling carbon data to be shared transparently along the value chain.

Increasing Competitiveness in the UK

Businesses that can demonstrate they are ‘PAS 2080: Designers’, ‘PAS 2080:Constructors’ and ‘PAS 2080: Product/Material suppliers’ – and hence able to deliver low carbon infrastructure – will gain more work, while international clients who want to succeed in the UK infrastructure sector will favour companies with a proven ability to cut cost by cutting carbon.

Competitive Advantage

Experience of the carbon management principles and components of PAS 2080 – with its positive message of improved carbon management and cost reduction – will be viewed favourably when bidding for work overseas, especially in economies aiming to meet their international carbon reduction commitments, but unsure of the best approach.

Collaboration is key to any successful project. When people and organisations work together, they better understand each other’s operations, helping identify potential logistical, cost and sustainability benefits. As a result, carbon objectives and targets can be met with growing confidence.

PAS 2080 represents a significant milestone in the industry’s efforts to promote de-carbonisation in the built environment. Its comprehensive approach focuses on reducing carbon emissions throughout the building and infrastructure life cycle, empowering organisations to continually work collaboratively and measure carbon reduction outcomes.

By adopting PAS 2080 along with other standards such as ISO 14001 environmental management, the carbon emissions from your projects can be reduced right from the outset. You can also maximise opportunities to achieve climate resilience and restoration, demonstrate a commitment to decarbonisation and contribute to the global effort to mitigate climate change.