Carbon Sequestration Initiative

Climate change is an issue which affects us all, and construction sites must be mindful of their contribution to this process. Specifically, sites should monitor their carbon emissions and make efforts to reduce and offset these emissions where possible.

See the examples below for how one site addressed this issue:

• Implemented a carbon sequestration initiative, which refers to carbon capture and storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
• This initiative allows carbon offsetting values (tCO2e) to be calculated for individual sites.
• Using guidance provided in the UK Forestry Commission’s ‘Carbon Lookup Tables’, the company has built a ‘standard’ scenario for a tree planting initiative on a construction project.
• The carbon sequestration value of that scenario is then calculated based on the type of tree planted and the building’s expected life cycle.
• For instance, the carbon sequestration value of one tree (sycamore, ash, birch) over 50 years is 0.1574 tCO2e. Therefore, if a site planted 20 trees, the total carbon sequestration value over 50 years would be 3.148 tCO2e.

This calculation allows sites of all sizes to accurately determine the environmental impact of their carbon offsetting activities.