Why we invested in Vizcab
The built environment, contributing approximately 40% to global emissions, plays a pivotal — but often overlooked — role in transitioning to a low-carbon economy. This is — in part — due to the complexity of the industry, the difficulty of quantifying operational and embodied carbon, as well as the complex interplay between the two.
Operational Carbon
Operational carbon refers to emissions incurred during the operation of a building as a result of lighting, heating, ventilation and general power usage throughout the building. Such emissions can be managed and reduced throughout a building’s lifetime. This has been the industry’s focus for years; indeed, new technologies have made great strides in increasing the renewable energy supply and improving efficiency. As operational carbon is reduced, embodied carbon will make up an increasing share of total emissions.
Embodied Carbon
Embodied carbon is the other, less obvious source of emissions, which happens even before the start of the construction process. It includes the extraction of raw materials, the manufacturing and refinement of materials, transportation, installation, maintenance, refurbishment, demolition and waste disposal. In fact, by the time construction materials reach the project site, embodied carbon has already been quietly sitting in the atmosphere. For new builds, the impacts of operational and embodied carbon are nearly even, as the choice of material and components significantly impacts the overall performance of the building.
Embodied carbon is gaining more attention as the European climate package considers the GHG emissions at all stages of their existence, from the origin of the materials used for construction, operational phase and end-of-life using the Life Cycle Assessment “LCA” methodology. Framed by the international standard ISO 14040, LCA has been the subject of studies and scientific work for over 50 years. The primary objective of this calculation method is to assess the environmental impact of projects on the same basis throughout their life cycle, allowing stakeholders to make fact-based decisions to improve their climate impact.
Life Cycle Assessment and Regulatory Frameworks in Construction
The work conducted around the building LCA has established new indicators and thresholds that are the foundation of new regulations coupling construction and environmental concerns. France is leading the charge with the RE 2020 policy, characterized by the introduction of dynamic LCA in calculating a building’s impact. Builders must carry out an LCA calculation when applying for a building permit and show that the carbon budget values are met upon completion. Carbon budgets will be gradually lowered every three years (2025, 2028, …) to reduce emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 2013 levels in construction and renovation and eventually reach net zero by 2050.
Similar regulations have been introduced across Europe. Currently, construction is regulated by LCA requirements in 9 countries (France, Germany, the UK, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands). LCA regulation will be developed for all EU countries by 2025, making LCAs mandatory for buildings >2,000 m2 by 2027 and all buildings by 2030. Comparable regulatory changes are also happening in the US, where the Embodied Carbon Policy is expected to be developed in all states by 2027.
Under these market dynamics, the building materials and construction sector faces two significant challenges: carbon taxes and transition risk while reaching the sector’s decarbonization goals. These challenges touch stakeholders across the entire construction value chain: engineers, architects, real estate developers, and building material manufacturers need to reinvent the way they work, integrating sustainability as a variable in their cost analysis.
Why Vizcab?
This is where Vizcab can provide tremendous value. Vizcab is a data-driven software platform that orchestrates the entire carbon journey for real estate developers from early planning to concept & technical design, construction and building use. In the early sketch phases, the software is a support tool that enables users to optimise their carbon strategy vs. the cost of building. Later in the construction process, it enables the calculation of the LCA of new builds in compliance with local regulations (the platform aims to meet mandatory LCA requirements for all newly constructed buildings in Europe by 2027).
Beyond LCA calculations, real estate developers can add their proprietary library of most frequently used construction materials and macro components to the platform and enrich it with sustainability data. This can later be used to conduct future LCA calculations more efficiently, but more importantly, to gain insights into the impact of materials and derive a carbon strategy from that data (e.g. ban the use of certain materials or promote the use of others). By seamlessly integrating with industry-standard construction tools, Vizcab can be used by engineers, architects, and other project stakeholders. This empowers real estate developers to communicate and manage their carbon strategy efficiently throughout the project lifecycle.
Vizcab’s long-term vision is to build a scalable carbon data platform that addresses the entire construction value chain. By building a comprehensive data layer of universal, browsable, and accessible data on EPDs, construction products, building LCAs and more, Vizcab will be able to generate insights into current construction practices, identify areas of impact and help real estate developers define their pathway and strategy towards achieving net-zero emissions. Insights into construction practices can help construction material manufacturers understand how their products are being used and inform future product design and marketing.
With over 40 years of combined experience in sustainable architecture, no one is better placed than Dr. Thomas Jusselme and Guillaume Lafont to reach this vision. The founders’ expertise, the company’s strong product development capabilities, the regulatory drivers for change and the opportunity to help reach net-zero emissions in the construction sector made Vizcab an obvious investment for KOMPAS. We are thrilled to lead the company’s Series A and to work with the Vizcab team in our joint mission of decarbonizing the built environment. We are also delighted to team up with strong partners, including Rise PropTech Fund, CEMEX Ventures, Altur Investissement, and existing investors A/O and Banque des Territoires(Groupe Caisse des Dépôts).
— by Andreas Winter-Extra, Partner | KOMPAS VC
