The case for Centres of Excellence in sustainable building design

Appendix 2
This is achieved in the analysis by applying a diminishing profile of future carbon
abatement as shown in Figure 2. This profile has been derived by reference to
The Carbon Trust persistence factors, shown in table 3, and applying these to
the profile of work are likely to be undertaken by the new graduates drawn from
examination of the low carbon returns and the McKinsey MAC curve.
Figure 2: Persistence of building carbon abatement measures
Career abatement potential
It is assumed that in the year of graduation, graduates entering the construction
industry will not achieve any meaningful project work to produce carbon
abatement. Typically the first six months of graduate employment will cover the
processes of induction and familiarisation with the new employer. The analysis
therefore commences with a full year’s worth of carbon abatement from the first
full year of employment after graduation.
If the project to establish Centres of Excellence commences in 2012, the first
cohort will graduate in 2016 and achieve carbon abatement from 2017 onwards.
The analysis period runs until 2050, giving career duration of 34 years. This
period is shorter than the typical life of a building and therefore it is expected
that abatement achieved in the first year of a graduate’s employment will still
contribute to the overall abatement, albeit at a reduced level, at the end of the
analysis period. The lifetime abatement for a graduate from the inception of the
program is given in Figure 3.
The case for Centres of Excellence in sustainable building design 55