Join us for a free online event introducing the new web-based tool to help housing professionals assess and reduce embodied carbon at the earliest stages of low-rise housing design
- Date: Thursday, 22 May 2025
- Time: 11:00 – 12:00 BST
- Location: Online (Microsoft Teams – joining link provided upon registration)
- Cost: Free
- Registration deadline: 21 May 2025 at 17:00
Join us for the online launch of the Early Stage Embodied Carbon Tool (ESECT) — a free, easy-to-use web tool designed to help housing associations, local authorities, and development professionals identify low-carbon design approaches in new low-rise housing.
Developed by Woodknowledge Wales, the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products, and the Good Homes Alliance, this tool enables non-specialists to make better carbon decisions — without complex modelling or lifecycle analysis expertise.
With the majority of a new building’s lifetime carbon emissions occurring before it’s even occupied, early-stage action is critical. This tool makes it possible.
Programme:
10 mins – Welcome & introduction with Dr Diana Waldron (Woodknowledge Wales)
- Why embodied carbon matters
- Overview of the Home-Grown Homes project
15 mins – Tool demonstration with Richard Broad (Alliance for Sustainable Building Products)
- How the tool works
- Key design levers and carbon impacts
15 mins – Insights into building elements with Clara Koehler (Woodknowledge Wales)
- Design details and carbon consequences
20 mins – Q&A and live discussion
With Toby Maclean (WKW) and the project team
What you’ll learn:
- What embodied carbon is — and why it matters
- How early-stage decisions shape long-term impacts
- How to use ESECT to assess sites, materials, and services
- How to reduce carbon without complex modelling
Who should attend:
- Development Managers & Officers (HAs & LAs)
- Architects and Designers
- Sustainability Officers
- Policy and Planning Professionals
- Housing Consultants
Reimagining low-carbon housing from the ground up
Across Wales and the UK, developers and housing professionals are being challenged to deliver homes that meet both the needs of people and the planet. But while much of the focus has rightly shifted toward reducing operational energy use, it’s the carbon emitted before a home is even occupied — the so-called upfront embodied carbon — that often accounts for the majority of a new building’s emissions.
The Early Stage Embodied Carbon Tool (ESECT) was created to meet this challenge head-on.
Developed by Woodknowledge Wales in partnership with the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products and the Good Homes Alliance, this free web-based tool helps local authorities, housing associations, and their consultants make smarter, lower-carbon design decisions — at the point they matter most.
No complex inputs. No spreadsheets. No prior carbon expertise needed.
This event marks the launch of ESECT Version 1.0, offering a live demonstration of the tool, a deep dive into key design levers, and a chance to put your questions directly to the people behind its development.
Whether you’re developing homes, shaping policy, writing briefs or advising clients — this is a practical, insightful session designed to support your work.
Join us on 22 May and take the first step toward carbon-smart housing design.
