Embodied carbon assessment across residential developments
Case study:
Greencore Homes is building low-carbon housing. The team combines biobased construction with embodied carbon assessment to support low-carbon housing delivery.
Embodied carbon visibility at design stage (RIBA 4)
Design decisions informed by carbon data
A consistent methodology across developments
Aligned with RICS whole life carbon standards
“We don’t see embodied carbon as a reporting requirement — it’s a design driver. If you want to build truly low-carbon homes, you need to understand the impact of the materials you are selecting and steer any changes as early as possible”
Alec Puleston – Sustainability Coordinator, Greencore Homes
Greencore Homes is a UK-based housebuilder focused on low-carbon housing.
The company plans to deliver more than 10,000 Better Than Net Zero homes by 2035. Each development is designed to reduce embodied carbon during construction and achieve net zero energy performance in occupation.
What sets Greencore Homes apart
- Upfront embodied carbon: Carbon impact is assessed from the earliest design stages, not only after construction.
- Biobased construction: The BIOND panel system uses hemp, lime, and timber in place of more carbon-intensive materials.
- Standardized housing typologies: Repeating core house types supports efficiency while allowing flexibility across developments.
The challenge
Greencore Homes needed a scalable way to compare embodied carbon across multiple residential designs and developments.
- Each design required a detailed carbon analysis
- Developments combined different housing configurations
- Carbon results needed to stay consistent and comparable
At the same time, Greencore Homes needed to:
- Interpret and standardize BIM model data across projects
- Ensure reliable availability and quality of EPD data
- Align embodied carbon calculations with RICS standards
- Maintain repeatable and comparable calculations across developments
The solution: a scalable workflow for embodied carbon calculation
Together with Madaster, Greencore Homes developed a workflow that connects BIM models, material data, and embodied carbon analysis across projects.
“By working with house typologies instead of individual plots, we can model once and scale across entire developments. That gives us both speed and consistency, without compromising on accuracy”
Ness Scott – Head of Sustainability, Greencore Homes
What Greencore Homes shows about the potential of carbon assessment
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