The Built Environment Carbon Database (BECD), developed in collaboration with organizations from all areas of the construction sector, is a free resource designed to become the industry’s primary tool for carbon estimation and benchmarking.
The Built Environment Carbon Database (BECD) is not “an assessment tool” but rather a comprehensive reporting platform and repository for carbon data on construction projects and products. Unlike carbon calculators, BECD serves as a central hub for uploading and downloading data, aiming to become the industry-wide standard for sharing knowledge and experiences.
You can use BECD to report and retrieve carbon data on various projects, referred to as ‘assets,’ which include buildings and infrastructure. The database is divided into two sections:
- Asset section, where you can report the results of your carbon assessments (embodied and/or operational carbon) and you can export a file containing all the information about projects entered by other users.
- Product section, where you can search for existing Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) of construction products or you can submit new LCA records.
Automated BECD Embodied Carbon Excel Report
To facilitate BECD Embodied Carbon reporting for our users, we have prepared an automated Excel report in eTool.
Please note that this report is currently only available for the eTool Default LCI Group.
eTool’s BECD Embodied Carbon Excel report provides embodied carbon impact for all life cycle modules (A-D). The report categorises building/asset elements with their numbers and codes which are the closest matching BECD Embodied Carbon template. With the details of the embodied carbon assessment, you can use this information to either manually enter emissions into BECD assessment platform or copy in BECD Embodied Carbon template for automated import of embodied carbon figures.
Generating the BECD Embodied Carbon Excel Report in eTool
Below are the steps to ensure that your BECD Excel Report is generated correctly from eTool:
- Complete modelling your LCA in eTool & get the Design certified.
According to the BECD user guide, some checks will be conducted on submitted data through statistical analysis, but it goes on to say that they are not third-party verifiers of WLCAs. When data is submitted to BECD, a field is created to confirm whether the WLCA has been verified by a third party. Users of the BECD are able to filter data on whether assessments have been verified by third parties.
Cerclos is a third-party verifier of WLCAs modelled in eTool through our certification service. Design Certification is valuable because it ensures accuracy, enhances credibility, and meets compliance standards. This service is included in both the Specialist Hotseat and Specialist subscription packages. We encourage eTool users to take advantage of this service. For more information, please refer to the following support post:
-
After certification has been completed. Navigate to the ‘Reports’ tab in your Design and generate the ‘Excel Report – BECD Embodied Carbon Report’.
- Save the file onto your computer.
