An international coalition of construction experts has published the world’s first universal standard for reporting carbon dioxide emissions used in the building and lifecycle of structures – also known as ‘embodied and operational carbon’ within the industry.
The International Cost
Management Standard – or ICMS3 – sets out a methodology for construction
professionals and developers to account the amount of embodied carbon their
projects will create, whether that’s through the delivery of new roads,
schools, offices, housing or railways.
An estimated 40% of global
carbon emissions are emitted every year through the construction of new
buildings and infrastructure, and the industry has accepted it must adapt in
order to meet the pressing need to avert climate catastrophe.
The launch of ICMS3
represents the starting pistol being fired for the construction sector to
embrace net-zero as a global, interconnected industry, and follows the COP-26
climate conference in Glasgow (UK) where world leaders set bold targets to
avert a global disaster.
Prior to launch there were conflicting ways to report carbon, and according to the RICS Global Construction Monitor, 40% of industry didn’t feel that accurate carbon measurement was understood. The coalition – through ICMS3 – has introduced a simple, easy to use method that will allow the reporting of the emissions created – which in the near future will allow developers to alter their proposals (either by selecting more sustainable materials or adopting construction practices) to drive down the impact to the climate.
As well as reporting on
‘embodied carbon’, ICMS3 also allows the lifecycle, cost and carbon impacts of
a building or infrastructure to be taken into account long after construction
is complete.
Also,
with a push to retrofit and reuse old buildings, rather than knocking them
down, the Standard provides developers with data and information which could
allow them to make informed considerations about the value of retrofitting.
As a global professional body, RICS are set to embed the new coalition standards into their standards and guidance for all members who operate in the construction sector. As such, RICS are planning to publish an updated whole life carbon assessment standard in 2022, which will align to ICMS3.
Alan Muse, Head of Construction Standards at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said: “De-carbonisation of construction is now essential to meet the goals of COP 26. Critically, to achieve this, we need globally standardized reporting systems – unless we measure it, we cannot manage it.
“The use of ICMS 3 will
benefit all construction stakeholders who wish to reduce carbon for a
combination of compliance, market and societal reasons and also drive
innovation in terms of alternative designs and solutions.”
Justin Sullivan, Chair of the ICMS Coalition and Construction Industry Council, added: “The ICMS journey has been a beacon of how collaboration works. We have 49 international public benefit bodies that have together created world class standards in the construction and infrastructure sectors.
“When it comes to
international standards for costs, life cycle and carbon in construction we are
the only show in town, true pioneers.
“The timing of the launch
of ICMS3, THE standard for carbon in construction could not be better with the
world stage digesting and implementing the outcomes of COP26. Onwards and
upwards.
The International Cost Management Standard (ICMS3) can be found and read for free via the RICS website here: ICMS 3 (rics.org)
Today’s publication follows a consultation that took place earlier this year and sought the views from all sides of the construction industry.
The ICMS is supported by a coalition of international organisations, including:
Africa
Association of Quantity Surveyors (AAQS)
Association
for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International (AACE)
Association
of Cost Engineers (ACostE)
Association
of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS)
Australian
Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS)
Brazilian
Institute of Cost Engineers (IBEC)
Building
Surveyors Institute of Japan (BSIJ)
Canadian
Association of Consulting Quantity Surveyors (CACQS)
Canadian
Institute of Quantity Surveyors (CIQS)
Chartered
Institute of Building (CIOB)
Chartered
Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES)
China
Electricity Council (CEC)
China
Engineering Cost Association (CECA)
Commonwealth
Association of Surveying and Land Economy (CASLE)
Conseil
Européen des Economistes de la Construction (CEEC)
Consejo
General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España (CGATE)
Dutch
Association of Quantity Surveyors (NVBK)
European
Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA)
Fédération
Internationale des Géomètres (FIG)
Fiji
Institute of Quantity Surveyors (FIQS)
Ghana
Institution of Surveyors (GhIS)
Hong
Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS)
Ikatan
Quantity Surveyor Indonesia (IQSI)
Indian
Institute of Quantity Surveyors (IIQS)
Institute
of Engineering and Technology (IET)
Institute
of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya (IQSK)
Institute
of Quantity Surveyors Sri Lanka (IQSSL)
Institution
of Civil Engineers (ICE)
Institution
of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK)
Institution
of Surveyors of Uganda (ISU)
International
Cost Engineering Council (ICEC)
Italian
Association for Total Cost Management (AICE)
Korean
Institution of Quantity Surveyors (KIQS)
Fachverein
für Management und Ökonomie im Bauwesen (maneco)
New
Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NZIQS)
Nigerian
Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS)
Pacific
Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS)
Philippine
Institute of Certified Quantity Surveyors (PICQS)
Property
Institute of New Zealand (PINZ)
Quantity
Surveyors International (QSi)
Real
Estate Institute of Botswana (REIB)
Royal
Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
Royal
Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM)
Singapore
Institute of Building Limited (SIBL)
Singapore
Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV)
Sociedad
Mexicana de Ingeniería Económica, Financiera y de Costos (SMIEFC)
Society of
Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI)
Union
Nationale des Economistes de la Construction (UNTEC)
