Developing a Framework for the Repository of Building Materials Embodied Energy Data
The Directed Research Project (DRP) focuses on developing a repository for embodied carbon
data specific to construction materials in India. The approach is both data-driven and
systematic, beginning with data mining, web scraping, Natural language processing
techniques to collect embodied carbon data from diverse material sources such as
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), government reports, and peer reviewed
academic papers as primary data source and industry reports and manufacturer databases as
secondary sources. To ensure accuracy, sensitivity analysis will be carried out and confidence
levels will be established for the gathered data. SQL will be used to organize the data into a
structured, easily query-able repository.
Creating the repository is important because, although India has made notable progress in
addressing operational carbon through initiatives like the Energy Conservation Building Code
(ECBC) and various rating systems, embodied carbon remains largely overlooked. While Net-
Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) focus on reducing operational energy, they do not ensure life-
cycle savings in greenhouse gas emissions under the embodied energy scope. The absence of a unified and exhaustive database of embodied carbon for Indian construction materials
highlights a critical gap. This DRP aims to address that gap by developing a robust database
that supports more granular carbon tracking.
