Bentley Systems, Incorporated, a prominent name in infrastructure engineering software, has announced the launch of new Carbon Analysis capabilities within its iTwin Experience platform. These enhancements are designed to assist infrastructure engineers in assessing and minimising carbon impacts, contributing to more sustainable infrastructure development.
The newly introduced features enable engineers to simplify the carbon reporting process, easily visualise embodied carbon, and rapidly explore alternative design options. The analysis focuses on embodied carbon, which refers to the carbon footprint of an asset before it is built. This includes the greenhouse gases emitted during the construction process. The new capabilities deliver a comprehensive “cradle-to-gate” assessment of a design’s carbon footprint, accounting for emissions from raw material extraction until the asset leaves the factory gate.
Savina Carluccio, executive director of the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI), highlighted the urgent need for action, stating, “Between now and 2050, embodied carbon linked to new infrastructure is projected to be responsible for half of the world’s carbon footprint released—even before the infrastructure is used. Given its significant contribution to global emissions, the sector must act with urgency to reduce embodied carbon at scale, leveraging new digital technologies and collaborative value chains.”
The new Carbon Analysis capabilities allow users to seamlessly integrate their design data with their preferred carbon assessment tools, enabling infrastructure professionals to link carbon footprints directly to their design choices. This integration allows users to dynamically observe how their carbon impacts change across various design iterations.
Chris Bradshaw, chief sustainability officer at Bentley Systems, explained the benefits of the new tools, saying, “Carbon assessments should be standard practice for global infrastructure projects, but creating carbon reports isn’t easy. Our new Carbon Analysis capabilities transform the tedious task of carbon reporting into a smooth, automated process, providing greater visibility into carbon impacts and helping professionals design sustainable infrastructure more efficiently.”
Traditionally, producing a carbon analysis report has been a labour-intensive process, often requiring significant time and resources. This involved organising siloed data, translating it into carbon metrics, and generating a final report. The challenge is compounded for large, complex infrastructure projects, which typically involve various stakeholders, datasets, and construction materials.
Bentley’s new capabilities aim to streamline this process through several innovative features:
- Automated Material Quantification: Users can automatically aggregate project and asset data from various sources into a digital twin, allowing for a simplified overview of material volumes and quantities.
- Easy Reporting: Users can generate accurate cradle-to-gate embodied carbon reports in minutes with a single click, thanks to integration with carbon assessment calculators.
- 3D Visualisations: Users can instantly view cradle-to-gate embodied carbon output as cloud-based heat maps within a live 3D digital twin model, facilitating exploration of sustainable design alternatives.
WSP, a global leader in environmental and sustainability consulting, has participated in Bentley’s Early Access Program for the new Carbon Analysis capabilities. Kelvin Saldanha, associate director at WSP, remarked on the improvements in transparency and efficiency, stating, “With Bentley’s new capabilities, our design team can calculate, analyse, and report meaningful carbon footprint impacts in real time, significantly reducing feedback loops.”
The new Carbon Analysis features are available immediately to iTwin Experience users at no extra cost, although an additional licence to a carbon assessment calculator is required from vendors directly. This initiative marks a significant step towards promoting sustainable infrastructure practices in the industry.