Part 1 | Counting the upfront carbon in Cat B office fit out

The findings of this cross-sector report have been submitted to the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard (NZCBS) to help inform their setting of upfront carbon limits for the office sector going forward.

Experts from across the fit out sector set out to answer this critical question.

What’s the current upfront carbon (life cycle modules A1-A5) performance level for Cat B office fit out?

And the answer?

It’s not straightforward. But if you wanted an evidenced average of the current
upfront carbon performance level of Cat B office fit out, your number would be 190 kg
CO₂e/m² (with a lot of caveats to go alongside).

Why is establishing the upfront carbon impact in Cat B office fit out important?

If we’re optimistic, the shell and core plus Cat A of a building are built to last 60 years and 20 years respectively. During this time, there’ll be multiple Cat B fit outs. If a fit out takes place every five to ten years, then the Cat B carbon impact could equal that of the shell and core plus Cat A in as little as 20 years.

This cumulative Cat B carbon cost is why our research is so important.

Download the full report to find out more and start your next Cat B office fit out project armed with the best available data today.

Part 1 | Counting the upfront carbon in Cat B office fit out contributors:

Manas Bane, SRE; Will Belfield, Hoare Lea; Asif Din, Perkins & Will; Zoë Glander, Overbury;
Elina Grigoriou, Grigoriou Interiors; Alexia Laird, Landsec; Andrew Moore, Hillson Moran; Salem Qunsol, Verte; and Anja Schellenbauer, JRA.

Supported by George Sexton and Karly Mills from Overbury. Special thanks to Muhammas Abdulsalem and Petro Michaelas from Verte; Imogen Christodoulou and Alice Jackson from
Hoare Lea; Seyma Atik from Hilson Moran; Celine McLoughlin-Jenkins from AECOM and Debbie Hobbs from CBRE.

Part 2 | Individual building elements is a supplementary document and is due to be released in August 2024. It will cover new research on upfront carbon associated with MEP, furniture, catering kitchens, staircases, temporary works, joinery and reused materials. Click here to download Part 2.