Achieving net zero in the water sector

For the water industry, the importance of conducting whole carbon assessments as part of the option development process - including strategic resource options (SROs) and water resource management plans (WRMPs) - has grown. This trend will continue as increasing numbers of water companies commit to net zero by 2030, and also consider capital carbon.

As carbon assessments need to be completed early in the delivery process, designers need to make assumptions and estimates of capital carbon, which can prove challenging given the lack of information available at the start of each project. While having to make significant assumptions can give the feel of a redundant exercise when quantities and materials are liable to change, it’s at this point that there are the greatest opportunities to reduce whole life emissions by identifying carbon hotspots and seeking lower carbon alternatives through optioneering such as building less and building clever. At later phases of a project, recalculating emissions at each stage of the delivery process reveals the impact of different design decisions and can help to drive carbon reduction throughout the design process. Thus, a flexible approach is needed.

So how can a water company conduct a carbon assessment that will be useful for reducing their carbon emissions and support them meeting the net zero goals? Optioneering is the most effective way to reduce carbon by comparing different design choices and understanding carbon hotspots to focus attention on, but it takes time to compile these calculations to fairly compare design options. Using an adaptable solution can enable an organisation to produce estimates quickly at all stages of the design process, from design brief to detailed design.

We developed Moata Carbon Portal in response to the water sector’s challenges. The solution rapidly calculates whole life carbon emissions across infrastructure assets in as little as a few minutes, and with intuitive drag and drop functionality, enables designers to visualise the impact of a design rapidly. As the tool can be accessed by many users, it streamlines the process and allows users to take ownership of their carbon assessments and easily update estimates as the design develops.

Moata Carbon Portal hosts asset and carbon information for specific assets such as pipelines, pumping stations and pumps, along with detailed emissions for lengths of pipe laid using different construction techniques, and unit rates for cubic metres of concrete or steel. It can overcome many of the water sector’s challenges in quantifying emissions early and help designers conduct carbon assessments easily.

Achieving net zero and reducing whole life carbon emissions is a water sector commitment. Quantifying the whole life carbon impact of infrastructure projects is crucial, but frequently recalculating emissions as the project progresses can prove time consuming. To have the greatest chance of success the process needs to be flexible, simple to conduct and adaptable, providing a useable framework that can be adopted across the water industry.