.jpg "Carbon Pioneer in Action")
CHALLENGE
ETZ Ltd is a private sector–led, not-for-profit company supported by the UK and Scottish Governments, working to position Northeast Scotland as a global leader in energy transition. One of its flagship initiatives, the Property Improvement Fund (PIF), aims to decarbonise the Altens Industrial Estate by investing in the energy-efficient refurbishment of existing industrial buildings.
The challenge was to quantify the carbon benefits of refurbishment versus demolition and rebuild, and to provide a robust evidence base to support investment decisions. This required a nuanced understanding of Whole Life Carbon (WLC) impacts across a diverse portfolio of warehouse assets, each with different conditions, uses, and refurbishment scopes.
SOLUTION
Savills Earth was appointed to carry out whole life-cycle carbon assessments across six warehouse assets within the estate. For each building, three scenarios were modelled: retention of the existing structure, demolition and rebuild, and major refurbishment. These assessments included detailed evaluations of embodied carbon, operational energy use, and total life-cycle emissions. To support ETZ’s strategic decision-making, Savills Earth developed a bespoke reporting framework that standardised the analysis across all assets.
This framework enabled clear comparisons between scenarios and incorporated assumptions around material reuse, system upgrades, and future grid decarbonisation. The approach ensured that ETZ could understand the carbon implications of each investment and align their funding strategy with national net zero targets.
RESULTS
The findings revealed that refurbishment consistently delivered significant carbon savings when compared to new build alternatives. Across the six buildings, refurbishment resulted in an average 61% reduction in total embodied carbon, equating to approximately 4,491 tonnes of CO₂ saved, or 2,417 kgCO₂ per square metre.
These results provided ETZ with a robust evidence base to justify their investment strategy and demonstrated the environmental value of prioritising refurbishment as a pathway to decarbonisation.