Carbon Impact of Refurbishment vs New Build
Client: Fabrix
Sector: Property Development & Commercial Real Estate
Challenge
Fabrix acquired The Binary (formerly Olwen House), a dilapidated 1960s police station on London’s Southbank, in 2018.
Faced a decision between significant refurbishment or demolition and rebuild to the latest building regulations.
Needed a credible carbon analysis to guide investment decisions and sustainability commitments.
Our Approach
Pilio delivered a comparative carbon assessment in 2019, covering:
Embodied carbon: calculated emissions from demolition, waste removal, and the production, transport, and installation of materials (glass, concrete, brick, cement, insulation, pipework, etc.).
Operational carbon: compared projected in-use emissions from refurbishment vs new build.
Counterfactual analysis: established the carbon impact of demolition/rebuild against substantial refurbishment.
Results to Date
Refurbishment far outperformed new build in overall carbon impact.
No evidence that a new build would achieve lower operational emissions than a well-executed refurbishment.
As the electricity grid decarbonises, the relative importance of operational emissions decreases, making embodied carbon the dominant factor.
Client Impact
Evidence-based confirmation that refurbishment delivers far greater carbon savings.
Strengthened Fabrix’s commitment to sustainable property development.
Positioned the project as a flagship example of low-carbon building practice in London.
Takeaway:
Rigorous carbon assessments demonstrate that refurbishment often delivers significantly lower carbon emissions than demolition and rebuild, supporting more sustainable property development.