PAS 2080: Carbon management in buildings and infrastructure guidance

PAS 2080 is a globally applicable standard for managing carbon in buildings and infrastructure. It looks at the whole value chain and aims to reduce carbon and cost through intelligent design, construction and use.

It’s a key reference document in the UK government’s Construction Playbook and has increasingly become the go-to specification for carbon management in the built environment.

The British Standards Institution (BSI), with sponsorship from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and the Green Construction Board (GCB), has revised and updated the standard to accelerate the ambition and outcomes for decarbonisation.

The associated guidance document, curated by the ICE and a technical author team, elaborates on the whole-life carbon management principles outlined in PAS 2080 and includes practical examples and case studies that bring these to life.

What’s new in the update?

The update incorporates five key themes:

• An integrated approach to the built environment – widening the scope of PAS 2080 beyond infrastructure to the built environment
• Systems thinking and net zero – integrating the transition to net zero into the standard and applying systems thinking throughout
• Taking a whole-life view – addressing the urgent need to retrofit existing stock and balance capital carbon investment with operational and user benefit
• Nature-based solutions - reflecting their value to both carbon reduction and climate change resilience
• Collaboration – highlighting the importance of working together across the value chain

Why is it useful for civil engineers?

The new PAS 2080 specifies requirements for the management of whole-life carbon in buildings and infrastructure – in the provision, operation, use and end of life of new projects or programmes of work, as well as the management or retrofit of existing assets and networks.

An aim of PAS 2080 and the guidance document is to help organisations to understand the impact of their assets on the wider network.

It should help to reveal an asset’s interdependencies and encourage early collaboration, but also define roles and responsibilities, and integrate decision making and procurement processes throughout an asset’s lifecycle.

Using the standard can demonstrate a commitment to carbon reduction and help the sector to adapt to a low-carbon future.

Find out more

To learn more about the standard, access PAS 2080 for free on the BSI’s website, and attend the ICE’s Strategy Session on adopting the new PAS 2080 on 18 April.