To achieve net zero, every element of the modern economy will need to decarbonise. This has profound implications for traditional business assumptions such as costs, risks, the regulatory environment, the use of materials and resources, and fast-changing consumer preferences. Achieving decarbonisation understandably requires a systematic approach.

Decarbonisation can apply to a nation, a region, a city, a district, an organisation, an infrastructure asset, a building or a product. We work with our clients to help them understand and minimise their impacts by preparing baselines and net zero strategies and targets, developing whole life cycle reduction pathways and supporting implementation. This can involve devising new policies, innovative business models, introducing new technology, training and cultural programmes, to accelerate and manage the complexity presented by the transition.

At Arup we take a staged systematic approach that helps you to start where change is easiest and most affordable, working to programmes that will ensure an organisation can thrive throughout this process of change. These insights can shape future investment strategy, supported by credible measurement and reporting that ensures clients can operate within this emerging regulatory environment.

The process

There are four steps to the decarbonisation process:

  1. 1

    Establish baseline emissions

    We work with you to carry out an assessment and analysis of where Green House Gas (GHG) emissions are generated. This carbon footprint analysis is a baseline that will inform your decarbonisation roadmap and the sequencing of change.

  2. 2

    Define a net zero strategy

    We produce your net zero roadmap, defining the changes that will be required at the portfolio, asset and operational level in order to meet your goals and deadline. This is advisory work backed with deep technical insights.

  3. 3

    Initiate and manage

    Our teams help you to embed the tasks and milestones of your net zero strategy. This is a combination of practical change management and cultural shift in procurement.

  4. 4

    Deliver, monitor and reassess

    Rigorous annual reporting and reassessment are essential to ensure that milestones are met during the transition. Ongoing monitoring can establish that emissions remain at zero and that relevant local regulations continue to be met.

Circular Buildings Toolkit

Discover strategies and actions to develop truly sustainable buildings

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Whole life carbon assessments

Understanding the embodied and operational emissions of an asset over its entire lifecycle is vital in the climate change era. Accurate estimation of these emissions has implications for a building’s design, its ultimate value, regulatory exposure, and commercial viability. 

Why we need whole life carbon data to scale net zero buildings
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Why we need whole life carbon data to scale net zero buildings

We have developed our own computational engineering tool, CRISP (Climate Risk Screening of Portfolios), to produce these evaluations on all new projects we work on. It helps building owners to proactively screen their portfolios for carbon-related risks driven by EU sustainable finance regulations and market demand. The tool provides a technical and economic assessment of assets at risk and a clear prioritisation of carbon reduction measures so they can avoid devaluation and can define workable mitigations.