RP1034 Carbon Value Engineering

_{Peer Reviewed Research Publications}

RP1034: Journal article: Beyond an ‘informed opinion’: evidence-based practice in the built environment

This study examines the sources of evidence that influence decision-makers who design or develop office buildings, and aims to explain why some managers engage more in evidence-based practice (EBP) than others. A mixed methods approach is conducted that combines quantitative results from 187 senior managers in the built environment and qualitative data from 18 interviewees.

The respondents evaluated the use and trustworthiness of different sources of evidence, followed by an assessment of practitioners’ adoption and understanding of EBP. This study discovers notable differences between how practitioners and academics view EBP. The results highlight the importance of a manager’s learning goal orientation, the cultural norms of the work environment, and the industry-wide barriers for EBP. Implications for the adoption of EBP in the built environment at the individual, organisational, and industry levels are put forward.

To read the articel click here: https://doi.org/10.1080/17452007.2019.1617670

_{CRCLCL Project Reports}

RP1034: Embodied Carbon and Capital Cost Impact of Current Value Engineering Practices: A Case Study

This research explores the carbon impact of current Value Engineering practices in Australia. To accomplish this goal, a complex mixed-use building in Sydney was modelled to determine the capital material costs and initial embodied carbon emissions before and after the VE process. The results support the suggestion of a positive relationship between embodied carbon and capital cost, as outlined in the literature.

In this case study, conventional VE strategies not only reduce the building material costs, as would be expected, (by 0.72%, or $396,000 in this instance), but also reduce the initial embodied carbon of the building by 563 tonnes (6.67kgCO2-e/m2 or 1.26% of total emissions in a cradle-to-gate framework). While such savings might seem slight in an individual scenario, expanding these findings across all future non-residential buildings in Australia could to lead to savings in the order of 18,769 tonnes of CO2-e per year, demonstrating the potential positive impact efficiency and dematerialisation can have on Australia’s built environment. The report’s findings will be of specific value to cost consultants and quantity surveyors, as it reveals the potential impact of the current VE practices on embodied carbon and capital cost of a building.

Embodied Carbon and Capital Cost Impact of Current Value Engineering Practices: A Case Study (999481 PDF)

RP1034: Carbon Value Engineering: Integrated Carbon and Cost Reduction Strategies for Building Design

The Carbon Value Engineering project aims to maximise the reduction of embodied carbon in the built environment. Rather than proposing a new process for these reductions, it adapts the industry-standard practice of value engineering (VE) for integrated carbon and cost minimisation.
The project set out to answer two research questions:

1. What is the impact of value engineering in its current form on building embodied carbon, and life-cycle carbon emissions?
2. To what extent can the process of value engineering be adapted to maximise the reduction of embodied and life-cycle carbon emissions early in the design phase while also securing economic value?

carbon value engineering final (5355227 PDF)