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Embodied Carbon Of Materials Calculator

Work out embodied carbon of materials instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Embodied Carbon Of Materials Calculator

Embodied carbon is quantity times a material carbon factor. Ordinary Portland cement concrete runs 250-400 kg CO2e per cubic metre depending on strength and cement content, and reinforcing steel 1.4-2.5 tonnes CO2e per tonne depending on the scrap content of the route. Steel often contributes half the total despite its small mass.

Formula

Embodied carbon

Total = concrete volume x concrete factor / 1000 + steel mass x steel factor

Worked example

With the default values below, Embodied Carbon Of Materials Calculator returns Total Embodied Carbon of 264.000. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Concrete Volumeminimum 0 m3
500 m3
Reinforcement And Structural Steelminimum 0 tonnes
60 tonnes
Concrete Carbon Factorminimum 0 kg CO2e/m3
300 kg CO2e/m3
Steel Carbon Factorminimum 0 t CO2e per tonne
1.9 t CO2e per tonne

Results

Total Embodied Carbon
264.000
Concrete Embodied Carbon
150.000
Steel Embodied Carbon
114.000
Steel Share Of Total
43.18%

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Embodied carbon
  3. 3Total Embodied Carbon= 264.000
  4. 4Concrete Embodied Carbon= 150.000
  5. 5Steel Embodied Carbon= 114.000
  6. 6Steel Share Of Total= 43.18

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is concrete embodied carbon reduced?

Cement replacement with ground granulated blast furnace slag or fly ash, lower strength class where structurally acceptable, and design efficiency that simply uses less concrete. Replacement of 30-50% of cement is routine.

Why does steel route matter so much?

Electric arc furnace steel from scrap has roughly a third to a half the embodied carbon of blast furnace steel from ore. Specifying recycled content or requesting an environmental product declaration captures the difference.

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