Carbon footprint calculation – sustainable solutions from Sweco
Developing the real estate and construction industry to be carbon neutral is one of the most effective and sustainable ways to control climate change. The carbon footprint has become one of our customers’ most important goals alongside cost and quality factors. The carbon footprint calculation gives guidelines for the development of operations and projects in a more sustainable direction.
As a pioneer in sustainable development, Sweco is constantly developing new solutions to build a more sustainable society, and from us you can get carbon footprint control as part of structural planning or carbon footprint calculation as a separate service. Our architects, engineers and energy experts work together to design a more sustainable society and the cities of the future.
The carbon footprint means all greenhouse gas emissions during the life cycle of a process, service or product added together. In the real estate and construction industry, this means the use of materials, energy, and site emissions.
Sustainable building design – calculating the carbon footprint of buildings
Carbon footprint calculation provides information to support decision-making. For example, the carbon footprint of the structures can already be seen in the data models of the preliminary and draft design phase, and thus alternative comparisons are supported. By calculating the carbon footprint, solutions are found to control climate change and measures can be targeted at energy efficiency. In this way, we can also quantitatively evaluate the realization of low-carbon or carbon neutrality.
Our energy and life cycle service offers life cycle solutions and energy consultations for individual buildings and entire areas. Our work promotes sustainably built urban environments with a small carbon footprint, but an impressive carbon handprint. Our life cycle concept also includes the ease and cost-effectiveness of maintenance and upkeep of the building during use.
Comprehensive control of low-carbon construction
The pursuit of low carbon begins with setting goals. The most significant decisions that affect the climate effects and low-carbon during the building’s life cycle are already made at a very early stage of the project. When aiming for a low carbon footprint, you need accurate information and strong expertise from all different design fields. Different parties, such as the developer, designers and contractors, must also understand the effects of different choices and solutions on the construction project.
Based on low-carbon control based on calculations, the project can be controlled reliably, and decisions are always made based on information. We achieve the best solutions when all parties commit to the goals and are able to make alternative comparisons between different solutions with ease.
Energy efficiency and energy production
Energy efficiency can be seen in our projects. We prefer renewable energy and use the latest technology. We create innovations that help the entire industry to develop. In construction and urban development projects, we pay attention to the energy efficiency of buildings throughout their entire life cycle.
Properly implemented energy efficiency projects are profitable investments. They help reduce energy consumption. For example, investing in waste heat recovery or renewable energy effectively reduces carbon dioxide emissions.
Sweco designs new regional energy solutions for heat and electricity production to enable a low-carbon society. More efficient energy network management models share property data in the cloud transparently and in real time. We design smart energy systems for companies, industrial parks and city blocks. Our energy solutions also include sustainable mobility, such as electric cars and bicycles.
Energy and life cycle planning – a new innovation
Sweco’s innovative energy and life cycle planning tool is responsible for speeding up the calculation of energy systems and energy consumption. With the energy and life cycle planning tool, it is possible to examine the wholes of several buildings – blocks or neighborhoods already in the concept or planning phase. In this way, calculations of energy flows are obtained, for example energy and life cycle costs, as well as carbon dioxide emissions from energy use.
