Consultation opens on lifecycle GWP calculation in buildings in Ireland

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has launched a public consultation on a suite of documents that will directly shape how building engineers assess and report Life-Cycle Global Warming Potential (LC GWP) in construction projects.

A critical step in aligning Ireland’s building sector with Article 7(2) of the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), the consultation seeks input from engineers, architects, and construction professionals on two technical reports and a new national methodology for calculating whole-life carbon emissions in buildings.

What’s under consultation?

Recommendations on Ireland’s LC GWP Calculation Methodology provides a framework for calculating the whole-life carbon (WLC) impact of buildings in Ireland, covering both embodied carbon (materials, construction) and operational emissions over the building's full lifecycle. The proposed methodology builds on EN 15978 and will underpin future regulatory requirements.

Recommendations on a National Embodied Carbon Database outlines the technical and operational steps needed to establish and maintain a centralised database of building materials and their associated embodied carbon factors. Engineers are expected to rely on this database for robust, consistent carbon accounting in building life-cycle assessments.

Life-Cycle Global Warming Potential Methodology is SEAI’s first official version of the technical methodology that engineers will use to assess whole-life emissions performance. It is aligned with the recast EPBD, the draft Delegated Act on Annex III, and forthcoming EU guidance.

Why CABE members should engage

Under Ireland’s Climate Action Plan, SEAI is tasked with finalising both the methodology and the embodied carbon database by September 2025. These tools will play a central role in:

• supporting future regulatory compliance and performance-based building codes
• providing standardised benchmarks for carbon assessments in design and specification stages; and
• enabling comparable, verifiable reporting across the building industry.

SEAI is encouraging engineers involved in building design, energy modelling, LCA, and sustainability strategy to review the documents and provide feedback.

"For building engineers, this consultation is a chance to directly shape how we measure carbon performance at building level going forward," said a spokesperson from SEAI. "Your technical insight will help ensure the methodology is practical, reliable, and fit for the Irish context."

Next steps

Feedback from the consultation will be used to refine both the methodology and database ahead of their integration into Ireland’s regulatory framework and national decarbonisation strategy. Participate and download the documents here. The consultation will remain open throughout Summer 2025.