Addressing Decarbonization in the Construction of Capital Projects

CII RT-411 conducted a comprehensive investigation into the adoption of decarbonization practices within the capital projects sector. This assessment explored organizational goals, key drivers, and challenges related to decarbonization, as well as current strategies for measuring and reducing embodied carbon. A key finding was the misalignment between organizations that have set decarbonization goals and those actively tracking their embodied carbon emissions.

To address this gap, RT-411 developed a roadmap to guide organizations in integrating decarbonization into capital project delivery. This roadmap builds upon established project management frameworks by introducing carbon as a critical dimension of analysis. It includes a suite of resources designed to support implementation and facilitate the successful integration of decarbonization initiatives. The roadmap’s effectiveness was validated through two case studies, both yielding positive outcomes.

As part of this effort, RT-411 created an Excel-based toolkit (IR-411) that offers practical guidelines for measuring and reducing embodied carbon emissions in capital projects. These guidelines align with existing industry practices during front-end planning phases, introducing carbon as an additional variable for project-level decision-making rather than requiring a fundamental shift in operations. The toolkit empowers practitioners to consider carbon impacts alongside traditional metrics such as cost, schedule, and quality, enabling more holistic and innovative decision-making.