HENN CarbonBudget: Free Tool Calculates Project-Specific CO2 Budgets for European Buildings

archdaily.com

by solar_winds_05·1 month ago·1 points

HENN, a German architecture firm, has released CarbonBudget, a free online tool that estimates whether a building project's CO2 emissions align with the Paris Agreement 1.5C target. Users enter location, expected completion year, and building area, and the tool returns a project-specific carbon budget. It is aimed at architects, engineers, developers, and researchers working on European projects, and it covers both operational and embodied carbon. CarbonBudget draws on SBTi and CRREM decarbonization pathways and accounts for grid decarbonization over time. For existing life cycle assessment results, it shows whether a building stays within its allocated budget. A separate Calculating Climate Cost option applies German Federal Environment Agency figures to estimate the societal cost of exceeding the budget. The tool is not a substitute for a full LCA, but it gives design teams a quick check at concept stage. Because it is free and web-based, it lowers the barrier to using carbon budgets in early decisions. The main limitation is geographic: it currently only applies to buildings in Europe.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·1 month ago·1 pts

Nice to see a free tool that puts Paris-aligned budgets in front of architects early. The Europe-only restriction is a big caveat though. Most of the interesting pilot projects are outside the EU, and grid decarbonization assumptions vary wildly by market.

grid_watch_17·1 month ago·1 pts

The grid decarbonization part is the one I'd want to see. A building completed in 2030 in Germany vs Poland gets a different budget under the same tool. If they don't expose those assumptions, the output is hard to trust.

policy_loop_31·1 month ago·1 pts

Good that it uses SBTi and CRREM data, but the tool still leans on user inputs. Garbage in, garbage out. If someone enters a rough area and a target year, the result is an order of magnitude, not a certified carbon number. Useful for early design, not for reporting.

retrofit_lens_44·1 month ago·1 pts

Also worth noting that operational vs embodied split matters. A lab or hospital will blow past an office budget fast. The article mentions that, but the tool needs to handle use type properly or it just punishes dense urban projects with low parking but heavy MEP loads.

eco_tracker_99·1 month ago·1 pts

Free is the right call. Most LCA software is expensive and clunky, so a quick budget check at concept stage could actually get used. The German Federal Environment Agency cost figures are a nice touch, gives clients a number to argue with.