Embodied carbon assessment with Adrian Campbell

The Infrastructure Podcast

In today’s podcast we take a deep dive into embodied carbon and try to get a better understanding of why infrastructure professionals need to make its assessment more than just a nice add on but a fundamental part of the design process.

The construction and infrastructure sectors are undergoing a major transformation as the industry seeks to reduce its carbon footprint and meet global net-zero targets. While operational carbon—emissions from heating, cooling, and electricity use—has traditionally been the focus of sustainability efforts, embodied carbon - emissions that are locked in at the point of construction and cannot be reduced over time - is now taking centre stage.

To discuss this issue, my guest today is Adrian Campbell, founder of the Change Building consultancy and someone that I like to describe as an industry sustainability guru and my go-to expert when it comes to reducing carbon across the infrastructure lifecycle.

Full disclosure; I have known Adrian since we studied Civil Engineering together at the University of Southampton back in the 1980s. Well, he did the studying as I remember!

Adrian has made a return to the University of Southampton as a tutor and lecturer and as Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor in Sustainable Development and Climate Impact He has just produced a new guide to help students get to grips with assessing embodied carbon - a rapidly developing area of professional competence which should provide the skills and judgment to help improve designs and help move us towards the goal of net zero carbon.

For students entering the fields of architecture, engineering, and construction, embracing embodied carbon assessment is no longer optional—it is a vital skill for shaping a sustainable built environment.

As Adrian puts it, having an awareness of the reasons for its adoption (the ‘why’) and some experience of assessment (the ‘how’) is now expected as part of the role of the engineer.

However, this presents challenges: data inconsistencies, limited industry knowledge, and balancing carbon reductions with performance and cost make it a complex area to navigate. So let’s find out why students should engage with embodied carbon thinking early in their careers.

Resources

Adrian Campbell Linked in

Southampton University Embodied Carbon guide

Change Building website

University of Southampton website

Positive Collective

Royal Academy of Engineering

Institution of Structural Engineers - how to calculate embodied carbon