Exploring the potential of accounting for embodied carbon emissions in building projects in Uganda

With the well-known impacts that the building sector has on the environment, accounting for embodied carbon (EC) emissions in building projects is emerging as an important consideration in project development approval processes. National and international initiatives on accounting for EC have been registered and in some countries, accounting for EC has been made mandatory. However, largely, the potential of accounting for EC is yet to be fully realised due to the prevailing limited integration of EC in building projects. In this paper, the potential of accounting for EC in the building sector in Uganda is explored using a two-stage approach. The first stage comprised of three steps: process discovery − to document prevailing practices; process modelling − to create an as-is system representing prevailing practices, and verification − using semi-structured interviews to ascertain whether the as-is system had been created correctly. The second stage comprised of two steps: analysis and process modelling. Analysis involved drawing evidence from the literature and the verified practices, in order to identify opportunities of introducing EC accounting. Through process modelling, a new (to-be) system incorporating EC was then created. Results from the verification step showed that the prevailing practices had been modelled correctly, further confirming the absence of EC accounting in the referenced context. Analyses revealed that incorporating EC accounting in building projects is plausible but should largely consider national circumstances, such as development approval processes. The overall findings shed more light on the increasingly appreciated phenomenon of accounting for EC in building projects. It is hoped that this work can remind, and at the same time, inform construction management practice and policy of the responsibilities the building sector has towards promoting sustainable construction.