SNC-Lavalin, a fully integrated professional services and project management company with offices around the world, has launched Decarbonomics, a data-driven solution to decarbonise the built environment in a cost-effective way and accelerate the global journey to net zero.
The Decarbonomics initiative builds on SNC-Lavalin’s methods and practices to deliver high-performing buildings and developments, interconnected by smart and green systems and infrastructure. It is being launched as both private and public sectors are looking at ways to reduce their carbon emissions at pace as the built environment contributes around 40% of global carbon emissions and the majority of the buildings that will exist in 2050 are already built.
“Creating the net zero communities of the future relies, in part, on effective decarbonization of existing assets. Decarbonomics is a concrete example of how we can help clients meet their net zero targets and is in line with our comprehensive Engineering Net Zero approach,” said Ian L. Edwards, President and CEO, SNC-Lavalin. “We provide sustainable solutions by connecting people, data and technology in partnership with clients such as the UK Government Property Agency, delivering decarbonization for its 450-building portfolio.”
Decarbonomics brings together SNC-Lavalin’s expertise and knowledge of building services, engineering design, asset management, project management, cost consulting, data analytics and data visualisations. Founded on the decarbonisation of existing building portfolios, Decarbonomics is an end-to-end service based on a simple three-step approach of benchmarking, road mapping and delivery of an organization’s decarbonisation programme:
- Benchmark: develop a carbon baseline
- Roadmap: design a cost-effective carbon reduction pathway
- Deliver: implement our carbon reduction solutions
The three-step approach is underpinned by Carbon Data Insights, a diverse mix of global open-source benchmark databases as well as SNC-Lavalin’s own rich building data library. The result is a decarbonised estate, achieved through the strategy for achieving carbon reduction from behaviour change to building retrofit interventions, and measuring progress across the portfolio and asset lifecycle.
“Decarbonomics is founded on the principle of systems thinking and brings our diverse expertise and knowledge of the built environment and buildings together in a way that enables us to make carbon visible at the portfolio level. This empowers our clients to make much more informed decisions about their investments in decarbonisation,” said Stuart McLaren, the Decarbonomics Development Director, SNC-Lavalin.
Q&A
What is Decarbonomics?
Decarbonomics is a new service proposition from SNC-Lavalin, Atkins and Faithful+Gould, providing a data-driven portfolio level approach to removing carbon from the built environment. It enables owners and occupiers of building portfolios of any scale (whether they own or lease them), to successfully decarbonise their entire building estate through the development and implementation of cost-effective and programme-optimised net zero pathways. By combining the project management and cost management expertise of F+G, with the design and engineering excellence of Atkins, the result is a powerful proposition that makes decarbonisation a financial and practical reality for building portfolio owners and occupiers.
Why is it important now?
With the built environment contributing around 40% of global carbon emissions and with 80% of the 2050 building stock already standing today, SNC-Lavalin is investing in solutions that address, head on, the issue of decarbonizing our existing buildings. The building sector has a pivotal role to play in creating the net zero communities of the future and to achieve this relies on the effective decarbonisation of existing assets today.
How does it work?
Our approach is based on a three stage process:
Stage 1: Benchmark
- We capture, structure and manage client portfolio data to gain a deeper understanding of their properties, benchmark current performance and create a framework to maximise the value of their data.
Stage 2: Roadmap
- We then analyse carbon, cost and engineering solutions to create enterprise level digital twins. In addition we use scenario testing augmented by artificial intelligence and machine learning to create bespoke roadmaps, for the most cost-effective and pragmatic implementation.
Stage 3: Deliver
- Our industry-leading management teams ensure quantifiable decarbonisation interventions are delivered throughout the life cycle of the client’s assets, providing real-time views of their performance against the plan.
- The three stage approach is underpinned by Carbon Data Insights, our industry benchmarking database to fill material data gaps to get clients moving more quickly.
- Decarbonomics builds on and integrates our deep capability providing professional service support across the whole life cycle of the built environment in the public and private sectors.
What are the key features and benefits?
Decarbonomics is an end-to-end service, providing whole life support across three core areas of benchmarking, road mapping and delivery.
The groundbreaking service brings together people, data and technology to provide the following features and benefits:
- An enterprise level view of the client’s current carbon baseline and benchmarked performance.
- Industry-leading programme management systems to create cost and programme optimised delivery plans, and the ability to track performance.
- End-to-end expertise and advice on the wide array of interventions and options for optimising your decarbonisation journey.
- Industry-leading programme management and asset management tools and processes, integrated into an unprecedented decarbonisation platform.
- A simple and fully dynamic end-to-end dashboard enabling clients to track and drill down on estates performance at any stage of the journey.
- Decarbonomics has also been developed to provide the required information to support the development of robust investment cases to help our clients secure the necessary finances and funding needed to deliver a net zero future.
How is it different to what’s currently available?
For the first time, Decarbonomics from SNC-Lavalin will provide clients with a complete picture of carbon presence across their entire building estate, whatever the size and scale through accessible and easy to use interactive dashboards. It is the first end to end solution enabling organisations to accelerate their net zero plans into delivery in the most cost and programme effective way, whilst minimising risk and maximising investment and funding opportunities.
Decarbonomics is market ready and can be delivered today without the need for clients to invest in additional technology or resources. We deliver end-to-end. Carbon Data Insights provides a diverse mix of global open-source benchmark databases as well as SNC-Lavalin’s own rich building data library to fill in gaps in any data.
