Carbon Reduction Plan

With infrastructure, construction and operation contributing to 50% of carbon emission and production in the UK, there is a large scope to which the company can assist with reaching Net Zero and reducing carbon emissions. Being a design consultancy, most of the influence we have over a project occurs during preconstruction in the design phase. Therefore we focus upon reducing the embodied carbon of designs, which are the carbon emissions during the
construction phase prior to operation, and contribute approximately 75% to the whole life cycle carbon emissions of a structure or infrastructure element.

Our CEO, Sean Keyes, is North West Regional Chair and on the Executive Director Board for the UK of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering; this is one of the subjects that he helps to lead both locally and nationally, helping to ensure this is on the national agenda, often lobbying governments across the globe to have long-lasting, impactful change.

Substructure design

Foundations are typically formed in concrete, which emits the highest amount of carbon out of all the standard building materials in the UK with concrete contributing to 25% of the total embodied carbon from construction in the UK. Approximately 90% of the carbon emissions from concrete comes from the cement content and therefore at Sutcliffe we endeavour to reduce the cement content of concrete as much as possible by specifying low cement concrete in the
designs and suggesting the use of additives when liaising with the groundworkers during construction. We make sure that we are always up to date with the latest standards and regulations and in particular new guidance on low carbon concrete. For example, we arranged for Concrete Centre to come and provide a presentation to all staff on the latest BS 8500 standard national publication to detail the latest specification guidance for concrete and the new low carbon alternatives to the standard designations of concrete.

When completing the foundation designs, we calculate the embodied carbon produced in the design and often complete an assessment to determine whether a different design solution may prove to emit less carbon, such as changing from deep strip and pad foundations to ground beam and piles. This has been done on a number of education buildings recently designed in the north-west of England with the foundation solution producing the lowest carbon emissions
being put forward for tender and construction.

Superstructure design

The superstructure of buildings, or the structure visible above the ground, can be formed in many different ways and materials, such as concrete, steel and timber. The initial concept designs completed for a structure are based around the material to be used. Therefore where possible, the priority at Sutcliffe is to use the lowest carbon emitting product, being timber of the standard construction material in the UK, before considering steel and then concrete in order of
lowest to highest carbon emitting materials. An example of this is an extension to a residential building that has been recently designed by the consultancy. The initial proposal from the architect was to have the roof formed in concrete. However we suggested that if possible, timber may be a better solution from a sustainability perspective, which resulted in the design being changed to timber.

When concrete is required for the superstructure, we prioritise using precast concrete rather than cast in-situ. Whilst this improves the quality of the production of the concrete and provides more reliability with construction programmes, it also reduces the amount of concrete waste, which can be between 5% and 10% between precast and in-situ, removing the possibility of carbon emissions from wasted concrete. As such, precast concrete construction is the standard form of floor construction advocated by Sutcliffe on all educational projects.

Sutcliffe is also well versed in the modern forms of construction, such as off-site construction or modular builds. We have been involved in the design and pre-construction design decisions on a number of education and housing projects where modular builds have been successfully constructed rather than traditional construction, reducing the amount of carbon emissions on a project.

Below ground drainage designs

When completing the below ground drainage design, the priority is to reuse the existing where possible and utilise the existing infrastructure. By doing this, it removes the carbon emissions associated with the deconstruction and removal of the existing infrastructure and the embodied carbon of the new construction – it is a net zero process by utilising the existing infrastructure.

At Sutcliffe, we pride ourselves on providing innovative designs that contribute to Net Zero targets – in particular multipurpose solutions to design problems. We try to provide a single design solution that benefits various facets of the project functionally, aesthetically and environmentally too that all come together to greatly help towards the net zero targets. The main design tool that we use in this regard is Sustainable Urban Drainage Solutions (SUDs). SuDs drainage systems reduce the impact of new and existing developments with respect to water in both rural and urban areas by replicating natural systems. By utilising the existing ground conditions, surface water can be dissipated and reduce the chance of flooding. For example on a recent school extension, rather than constructing a tarmac car park with aco drains installed around the perimeter and new below drainage routes, the existing ground conditions were
utilised allowing a permeable surface to be installed that allowed the surface water to penetrated through the material and disperse into the ground below, as it would have done in the previous usage as a green space. On another school project, a detention basin was specified that was aesthetically pleasing for the project but also greatly reduced the chance of flooding by storing rainwater for the area in the basin. This is a good example of a multi-purpose
solution as whilst it reduced the flood risk for the area, the vegetation in the basin contributed to the capture of carbon by taking in Carbon Dioxide from the air creating a negative carbon emission. This negative-carbon emission solution is a prime example of how Sutcliffe utilises their design responsibility on a project to greatly contribute to the production of a net zero project.

In house net zero policies

Sutcliffe takes a holistic view on net zero targets and ensures that company policies are implemented in the office that contribute to net zero goals including our Carbon Reduction Plan, which is published on our website. There are a number of recycling bins in the office for various different wastes typically found in an office, such as food containers, drink cartons etc. which encourages staff to recycle. The office is also paperless with staff encouraged to not retain paper where required and recycle in the designated paper recycling bins when needed. A policy that is being implemented in the coming months for the company is that all drawings and reports will have a section where the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) that are hit by the design or information in the report will be indicated with the relevant UN SDG standard logo for each of the 17 goals. This is to promote the UNSDGs and to focus the recipient on the sustainability goals, and therefore Net Zero targets, that are being hit through the designs and information provided.