Sustainability
The way to be sustainable, in getting out of the ground, in the current climate is to reduce the depth to which foundations (pile/traditional) are constructed, reduce the amount of remediation (muckaway) required. This reduces the amount of concrete required and waste produced. We should also be looking at the amount of steel reinforcement we are putting into foundations.
This can only be achieved through a collaborative design approach with Structural & Civil Design Engineers, the Ground Engineers (Geotech/Site Investigation), the client and regulator. Getting the best out of the ground, using the best data we can get in the best way, with all risks appreciated and understood, designed out where possible and mitigated where not.
But how do you judge whether a decision you are making makes a foundation/remediation strategy more sustainable or not?
Well Ground & Water can help with this, with our new G&W Sustainability Calculator.
There is a pressing need to dramatically cut carbon emissions across the world. Ground /Geotechnical/Geo-environmental Engineers, alongside Structural/Civil Engineers, have a significant role to play in this. A way of achieving this is to calculate the embodied carbon of work at every design stage of the construction process.
One of the most important times to calculate embodied carbon is at an early design stage, which includes early site investigation, foundation and remediation design.
Ground & Water have utilised information within the Highways England Carbon Tool Guidance, Government Carbon Factors Report 2020, ICE V3 and the Bath Inventory Version 2.0 (2011) to produce a bespoke embodied carbon tool for foundations and remediation.
This allows the embodied carbon of an 18m deep piled foundation to be compared to a 2.0m deep, by 1.0m wide traditional footing and allows you to decide which is the most sustainable approach.
The tool allows you to evaluate the embodied carbon in a decision to install gas membranes, but also to install a 600mm capping instead of a 300mm Topsoil capping.
It allows you to determine the positive impact that use of the Definition of Waste Code of Practice (DoWCoP) can have on your earthworks. What is the carbon benefit of re-using 1000m3 of soil instead of importing it onto site?
Further decisions can therefore be Cost/Benefit balanced, with the benefit to the overall environment included within the design.
We will include a basic sustainability evaluation as standard within our reports, comparing typical pile length with typical traditional footing depth.
That said, for £300 excl. VAT, this sustainability assessment can be expanded to look at the impact of the piling mat, No. of houses, and the m2 area of footing, for a detailed site wide assessment.
It may be possible to link this with Civil & Structural Engineering tools, like the Highways England Carbon Tool or The Structural Carbon Tool Version 2 as it is understood that Embodied Carbon Assessments from Civil/Structural Engineers may use similar tools and carbon factors.
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What our clients say
We have worked on numerous projects with Ground & Water in the last 12 months, where they have been able to provide advice on site feasibility, close liaison with our design team to establish extent of site investigations to inform substructure and drainage strategies, and providing support in complying with Local Planning Authority requirements and planning conditions. Ground & Water are proactive in providing their full range of services for our projects to meet our programme and budget requirements, and we continue to have a close working relationship with them.
Stephen Mudie
Drew Smith