This document discusses reducing construction emissions through partnerships and tools. It introduces a partnership with Impact on Urban Health to identify exemplar construction sites and develop an emissions tool. The tool calculates emissions from non-road mobile machinery and compares scenarios to benchmarks. The tool was updated to include carbon calculations and additional fuels. Next steps include sharing the tool widely and updating it with real-world emissions data. The tool helps plan equipment use and evaluate policies but has limitations in fully capturing alternative fuel emissions.

1. Reducing Construction
Emissions
Exemplar sites
Construction emissions tool
In partnership with:
Sam Bradley
11th October 2023

2. Reducing Construction Emissions
Agenda
• Introduce work in partnership with Impact on Urban Health – Exemplar
sites
• Construction Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) emissions tool
• NRMM emissions tool update and future application

3. Reducing Construction Emissions
Partnership with Impact on Urban Health: Introduction
Exemplar construction sites for air quality - Impact on Urban Health

4. Reducing Construction Emissions
Partnership with Impact on Urban Health: Consultation and engagement
Research feasibility and barriers
of options/measures:
• Literature review (e.g. papers,
case studies)
• Stakeholder engagement

5. High
• Plan for zero emissions:
• Plan sites to allow for diesel free construction
Medium
• Use low/ zero emissions equipment:
• Select low/ zero emission alternatives (alternative
fuel and exhaust abatement technology)
Low
• Reduce emissions:
• Select more stringent EU Stage compliant
equipment
• Reduce equipment usage
Reducing Construction Emissions
Partnership with Impact on Urban Health: Knowledge acquired
Considerations
• Emission impact = achievable
reduction
• Cost = money/time. Capital and
operational
• Market = readiness and
availability
• Recommendations need to be
site-specific

6. Reducing Construction Emissions
Partnership with Impact on Urban Health: Exemplar Sites
Our approach:
• Involvement at procurement stage
– Input into environmental Contract
Clauses and Tender Questions
– Site-specific evidence pack
– Assess answers to tender questions
• Inception of the construction NRMM
emissions tool
Tustin estate

7. Reducing Construction Emissions
Partnership with Impact on Urban Health: Inception of NRMM emissions tool
Original application:
• Calculate and evidence reductions
• Monitor progress towards targets
Requirements of the tool:
• Accessible and user friendly
• Calculate emission comparisons
• Provide insights

8. Stakeholder
Engagement
• Construction companies and industry bodies
• Administrative/regulatory bodies
• Manufacturers/suppliers
Research
• Carbon emission factors and calculations
• Emerging technology emissions
• Alternative fuel emissions
Tool Update
• Incorporate carbon emission calculations
• Incorporate additional emission factors (e.g. alternative fuels)
• Incorporate further functions (e.g. GLA NRMM policy
compliance)
Future
Maintenance
• Testing
• Feedback
• Publishing
Reducing Construction Emissions
NRMM Emissions Tool (Version 2)
Further applications of the tool:
• Environmental procurement evidence
• Emission-based planning of NRMM
use/selection
• Tracking emission reductions
• Meeting policy requirements
• Evaluating NRMM policy/targets
based on emissions
Inception of Version 2
Version 2 process

9. Reducing Construction Emissions
NRMM Emissions Tool (Version 2): About the tool
Flow of data in the tool
Emission calculation
Emission factors
(EMEP/EEA and
BEIS)
NRMM details
Power rating (kW)
Euro Stage
Equipment type
(variable speed
engine/constant speed
engine)
Estimated hours of use
Alternative fuel
assumptions/emission
factors (manufacturer
sheets, papers)

10. Reducing Construction Emissions
NRMM Emissions Tool (Version 2): GLA Compliance
• Calculate NOx and PM
emissions
• Compares with the
Benchmark
• Benchmark = minimum
GLA NRMM policy
requirements

11. Reducing Construction Emissions
NRMM Emissions Tool (Version 2): Carbon breakdown
• Calculate CO2e emissions
• Compares with the
Benchmark
• Benchmark = minimum
GLA NRMM policy
requirements

12. Reducing Construction Emissions
NRMM Emissions Tool (Version 2): Scenario comparison
• Calculate NOx, PM and
CO2e emissions
• Compares with Baseline
• Baseline = User
determined

13. Reducing Construction Emissions
NRMM Emissions Tool (Version 2): Next steps
• Sharing as widely as possible
• Continue to maintain and update
Current aspirations for updates include:
• Using Real World Emissions data
• More intuitive inputs informed from trends in telemetry data (e.g.
average engine setting/speed, idle times, usage)

14. Contact
Senior Environmental Consultant, UK Air Quality team
Sam Bradley
Sam.Bradley@arup.com

16. Reducing Construction Emissions
NRMM Emissions Tool (Version 2): Limitations
• Not all available alternative fuel options (e.g. Hydrogen as combustion
fuel – limited data held on emissions and uncertainty for CO2e)
• EMEP/EEA emissions guidebook methodology – emission standard basis
– Note that this will vary from Real World Emissions – see work from
our friends at Centre for Low Emission Construction (C.D. Desouza et
al. 20201)
1 C.D. Desouza, D.J. Marsh, S.D. Beevers, N. Molden, D.C. Green, Real-world emissions from non-road mobile machinery in London, Atmospheric Environment, Volume 223, 2020, 117301, ISSN 1352-2310,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117301.