ERA progressing with CO2 calculator

In 2018, the ERA commissioned a research project on the Carbon Footprint of Construction Equipment.

The outcomes of this project were presented during the 2019 ERA Convention, in Madrid, by the two research companies, Climate Neutral Group and CE Delft. They showed how carbon footprinting could provide insights to reduce the environmental impact of construction equipment. For instance, it was highlighted that the efficient use of construction equipment (with high utilisation rates, optimised transportation, etc.) can result in a substantially lower carbon footprint of equipment over its entire life-cycle compared to other – less efficient – use cases.

These notions were based on calculations made using the first version of a carbon footprint screening tool, containing life-cycle information of ten pieces of construction equipment.

Based on the carbon footprint screening tool and the first analyses, the ERA has asked CE Delft and Alias, the ERA’s digital solutions provider, to develop an improved and more accessible version. The goal of this follow-up project is to develop a web-based, easy-to-use CO₂ calculator for construction equipment. Intended users are rental companies, OEMs and contractors.

The ERA Equipment CO₂ Calculator should be ready by the end of 2020 and will provide insight into the life-cycle environmental impact of equipment, enabling users to identify environmental ‘hot spots’ and investigate how changes in their use would affect their carbon footprint. Thus, a larger part of the construction sector can become involved in straightforward environmental analyses.

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact the ERA team at era@erarental.org.