Embodied Carbon in Piping Materials

Materials
1

Hi everyone,

My jurisdiction is interested in incorporating sustainability considerations into our selection of conveyance piping materials (Ductile Iron, PVC, HDPE, Clay etc.). There are many variables that affect the GHG footprint of a pipe installation/replacement project, but we wanted to start by seeing if we could assess embodied carbon from the manufacturing stage of these products. I have been able to source a handful of studies, but with limited information on the topic, it has been difficult to put together a process to account for embodied carbon in the selection process.

Thus, I wanted to throw it out there and see if there are any jurisdictions that incorporate embodied carbon considerations into pipe material selection. If so, I would love to connect and learn more! Additionally, any resources on the subject I may have missed would be awesome.

Thanks,
Jack

2

Jack,

The MEP 2040 group (Follow the updates here) is publishing the “Beginner’s Guide to MEP Embodied Carbon” on April 22nd. The guide includes methodologies for calculating piping

1 Like
3

Hi Jack,

In addition to what Joel mentions above (the upcoming MEP2040 guide), you should check out the CIBSE/ASHRAE TM65NA standard - it will provide you with a methodology to estimate the embodied carbon of simple products like piping from cradle to grave based on the primary material makeup of your pipe systems - and if you want at that point you could isolate just A1-A3 to get the cradle to gate impacts.