CO₂ forecast at the touch of a button: the GOLDBECK Carbon Footprint Calculator

Just 16 months from initial idea to finished forecasting tool: Since March 2024, our Carbon Footprint Calculator – an in-house development that we like to abbreviate to “CFC” – has enabled us to calculate for our customers, right from the initial design phase, how much CO₂ the building construction will emit over its entire lifespan. Our roadmap target: to raise the proportion of projects with a carbon footprint analysis to 75 percent by the 2025/26 financial year.

Every experienced building owner, every one of our sales managers and every project manager must have a handle on costs. We at GOLDBECK provide very precise cost forecasts from the early design phase. The Paris Climate Agreement and increasing levels of regulation have elevated CO₂ to something of a currency, influencing corporate decision-making. With the new GOLDBECK Carbon Footprint Calculator – or CFC for short – we can now also offer our customers well-founded CO₂ forecasts in the design phase.

CO₂ reduction using an app

The comparison of variants allows for active shaping of the CO₂ emissions of a project.

 

In just a few minutes, the app calculates how the cubic volume and various structural components and interior design options will affect the carbon footprint of an individual real estate project. All calculations are based on verified CO₂ benchmarks that are regularly updated. The benchmarks are supplemented by the carbon footprints of GOLDBECK system elements – including load-bearing structures, exterior wall elements and staircases, as well as insulation materials, façade designs and interior fittings. The variant comparison then serves as a consulting and decision-making basis to actively and positively influence the emissions of the building fabric over the selected life cycle phases.

 

Our systematic construction methodology – and the seamless digital documentation that comes with it – is the prerequisite for automating the CO₂ forecast at an early stage of the planning process and for minimising deviations from the actual carbon footprint after completion. “The Carbon Footprint Calculator is unique on the market,” explains product manager Dagmar Frenz. “And I can assure you: You’ll be amazed by the results!”

Different trade, same principle:

the Carbon Footprint Calculator for civil engineering

While much of the structural engineering at GOLDBECK is standardised, civil engineering naturally requires individual solutions. Depending on the conditions at the construction site, it may be necessary to excavate large amounts of earth, lay foundations, install drainage systems or create access roads. 

To identify the CO₂ drivers in this trade as well – and thus be able to reduce the environmental impact through targeted measures – GOLDBECK has developed the Civil Engineering Carbon Footprint Calculator to supplement its Carbon Footprint Calculator for the building fabric: From transplanting trees based on their specific diameter, to excavating, loading and recycling different types of soil using either conventional or eco-friendly machines, to installing letterboxes and planting vines – the tool can analyse over 450 individual measures and provide a comprehensive CO₂ forecast for civil engineering services across the life cycle assessment modules A to D, including A4 and A5.

Rose bush on an office site as greenery.
Press contact
GOLDBECK GmbH
Ummelner Straße 4-6
33649 Bielefeld
Deutschland
Fon +49 521 9488-1187
Mail presse@goldbeck.de