Members are learning about the world’s first specification for managing whole-life carbon in infrastructure at a series of regional events.
PAS 2080:2023 is a globally applicable standard for managing carbon in buildings and infrastructure.
The standard doesn't just promote reduced carbon. It also encourages:
- increased value delivery
- a culture of challenging convention; and
- other co-benefits, such as climate resilience and nature-based solutions.
PAS 2080 (PAS stands for publicly available specification) was updated in 2023 to respond to the urgency of the climate emergency and to consider the wider built environment.
The ICE and Green Construction Board (GCB) sponsored the 2023 revision to PAS 2080, allowing the British Standards Institution (BSI) to offer it free of charge.
The ICE also co-produced practical guidance to help organisations best apply the standard.
Through a series of regional events across the UK, the ICE is showcasing PAS 2080. The events give members with the opportunity to discuss their practical challenges and explore possible solutions.
Members are encouraged to sign up for an event to hear how PAS 2080 is being applied to projects in their area and share best practice and real-world case studies.
PAS 2080 regional events
PAS 2080 gaining real momentum, says ICE director general
Dr Janet Young, ICE director general and secretary, has highlighted the ICE’s efforts to make PAS 2080 the go-to global standard for the management of whole life carbon in buildings and infrastructure.
Dr Young spoke at a special event in Bath in July 2024, hosted by the South West Infrastructure Partnership (SWIP), ICE South West and the University of Bath. The event was attended by more than 120 professionals from across the region.
Dr Young said the ICE is raising awareness among its members and non-members to help make PAS 2080 the global standard of choice.
She said it was fitting to be working with SWIP as a champion of cross-sector collaboration.
PAS 2080 emphasises the importance of a systems thinking and a whole-life view of carbon management, which couldn't be achieved in isolation.
Mark Hansford, ICE director of engineering knowledge, told the audience that one of the key features of the updated PAS 2080 was widening its scope to cover the whole built environment, not just infrastructure.
He said the update also provides a common framework that encourages the whole supply chain to change its behaviour.
An honest and practical account of the route to achieving PAS 2080 accreditation was presented by Alice Searle and Nicole Turley of Milestone Infrastructure.
They shared examples and tips about the audit process and highlighted the benefits and challenges along the way.
In breakout group sessions, event delegates were able to have their say and explore common barriers to PAS 2080 implementation and how to overcome these hurdles.
Professor Colin Taylor, ICE policy fellow and member of the SWIP steering group, said many of the breakout groups identified the need for early collaboration by all parties to deliver effective carbon reduction.
He concluded that carbon management needs to be embedded as a culture, just like safety, because “net zero is forever”, not just until 2050.
Almost 250 people attended ICE Scotland’s ‘Carbon management conversations: examples and application of the PAS 2080 standard’ online and in-person at the University of Strathclyde Technology and Innovation Centre.
Held on 29 August, the event was introduced by ICE Scotland chair, Donald Bell, who reminded delegates that ‘climate change is the challenge of a lifetime’.
Why PAS 2080 was updated
Lewis Barlow, decarbonisation technical director UK, WSP and ICE Trustee, explained why the PAS 2080 updates in 2023 were needed.
He said it was quite a simple process, and people would then have the confidence to challenge the system, clients and the supply chain. Doing so “in a positive and constructive way but letting them recognise the way they are doing things at the moment isn’t good enough”.
The next speaker was Will Arnold, head of climate action at the Institution of Structural Engineers, who talked about aligning Part Z (which looks to limit embodied carbon emissions of major building projects) and PAS 2080.
He told delegates “PAS 2080 is out there – you should use it…and Part Z will compliment that.”
What’s in the update?
Chris Lansburgh, decarbonisation director at AECOM, then went onto explore the update, application and changes before a Q&A session.
After a break, two speakers talked about PAS 2080 in practice:
- John Slavin from BAM Nuttall talked about the Cross Tay Link Road
- Lewis Barlow gave an update on the Scottish City and Regional Growth Deals
What’s next for the industry and the standard?
There was a panel discussion on what’s next for the industry and profession.
The panellists were:
- Jannik Giesekam, chancellor's Fellow, department of civil and environmental engineering, University of Strathclyde
- Ian Watt, capital investment manager, Scottish Water
- Cristina Ciucci, programme manager, Programme Manager Office (PMO) Glasgow City Region City Deal
- Tosin Fasanmi, senior sustainability engineer, Costain
Topics discussed were:
- To what extent do you believe that change is happening and leaders are on board?
- How can we ensure the whole industry is on the same page with whole life carbon?
- What good practice are you already seeing on projects and their approaches to applying PAS 2080 across the whole supply chain?
- What are we doing to embed PAS 2080 and decarbonisation with the next generation of engineers?
The event finished with a ‘fireside chat’ between Lewis Barlow and Elizabeth Leighton, secretariat, Climate Emergency Response Group, on the future of PAS 2080 and net zero.
The ICE Wales Cymru roadshow event will take place in 2025, dates to be confirmed.
Using PAS 2080 to decarbonise transport infrastructure
HS2 and Skanska representatives explained how they used PAS 2080 on transport projects at the roadshow in Birmingham.
More than 60 delegates attended the event on 22 October 2024, which was hosted by Arup.
Andrea Davidson, head of carbon and climate change at HS2, outlined how to create and implement a clear vision for decarbonisation.
David Mason, head of environment technical at Skanska UK, presented carbon reduction on the M42 Junction 6 project.
The event, chaired by past ICE West Midlands chair Hudson Taivo, also featured:
- Jennifer Laight, associate director at ARUP, who provided an update on PAS 2080 and what it means for infrastructure.
- Mark Hansford, director of engineering knowledge from the ICE, who highlighted why we need to use the standard to improve infrastructure.
