In a pioneering way, IKEA, with the support of Ecoprogresso, estimated the carbon footprint related to the construction activities of its most recent store in Loulé. ECOPROGRESSO developed the project between March 2016 and February 2017, having followed the guidelines of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol of the World Resources Institute / World Business Council for Sustainable Development for the calculation of GHG emissions.
The main source of the identified emission was the material's life cycle (emissions from the raw material extraction to its production in the industrial facilities). Emissions from fuel consumption by different fixed and mobile equipment were also relevant.
The Carbon Footprint evaluation in the Design Phase has the advantage of knowing environmental information that can be taken into account in the building construction decision-making, in order to make it more sustainable and energy-efficient. At this stage, the Carbon Footprint can be assessed, as well as other sustainability indexes, considering different construction variables.