Literature Review

A scan of available data sources confirms a clear gap in publicly accessible, standardised, spend-based emissions factors for construction in Australia. While there is substantial work underway across government, industry and academia, none of these efforts yet provide the practical, Australia-specific factor that finance and sustainability teams need.

Key sources reviewed:

  • Greenhouse Gas Protocol: Allows for spend-based estimates as one of three accepted calculation methods (alongside average data and supplier-specific methods). However, it does not provide construction-specific spend-based emissions factors, nor does it offer detailed guidance tailored to construction procurement or capital works.
  • Climate Active: Uses IELab (Industrial Ecology Lab) data to supply spend-based emissions factors across many categories. Access is limited to members. Climate Active is currently under review.
  • IELab and Footprint Lab: IELab’s data is based on 20 years of academic modelling but is highly technical and not designed for practical industry application. IELab’s commercial offshoot, Footprint Lab, provides spend-based estimates behind a paywall.
  • Infrastructure NSW: The Embodied Carbon Measurement for Infrastructure: Technical Guidance provides some guidance on Page 62, based on earlier modelling for Infrastructure Australia. This is not suitable for broader application.

Industry and government support

Industry discussion about Scope 3 emissions has been underway for some time but these are, in the main, targeting construction or sustainability audiences.

  • NABERS Embodied Carbon: Measures, verifies and compares upfront embodied carbon of new buildings, covering material, transport, and construction emissions. Does not include spend-based emissions factors for general construction.
  • Green Building Council of Australia: The GBCA’s Scope 3 discussion paper (2024) notes the need for benchmarking data to support reporting entities, particularly for fitouts.
  • Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council: ASBEC’s policy roadmap, Our upfront opportunity (2025), recommends investment in an “aligned national framework and tools to baseline, measure, benchmark, disclose and reduce embodied carbon through a unified methodology and common database”.
  • Infrastructure Australia: Embodied Carbon Projections for Australian Infrastructure and Buildings (2024) recommends governments “continue developing a nationally standardised embodied carbon measurement system, which allows for consistent methods to collect, measure, and assess data about embodied carbon.”
  • GRESB: In 2024, GRESB surveyed infrastructure asset participants and found inconsistent Scope 3 reporting and no universally agreed definition of materiality.
  • PCAF, CRREM and GRESB: The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) and GRESB released technical guidance for Accounting and Reporting of GHG Emissions from Real Estate Operations (2023), but this does not include spend-based emissions factors.
  • Property Council of Australia: Its 2023 submission on climate disclosure reporting identified the need for a standard Scope 3 methodology for capital works.
  • Australian Sustainable Finance Institute: Expects to release the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy mid-2025. Spend-based factors are not included.

References

Australian Securities & Investments Commission. (n.d). Sustainability reporting. https://asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/sustainability-reporting/

Australian Securities & Investments Commission. (n.d). Sustainability reporting for small business. https://asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/sustainability-reporting/sustainability-reporting-for-small-business/

Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC). (March 2025). Our upfront opportunity: A policy roadmap. www.asbec.asn.au/research-items/our-upfront-opportunity/

Australian Sustainable Finance Institute. (n.d.). Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. www.asfi.org.au/about-taxonomy

Climate Active. (July 2024). Climate Active consultation update. www.climateactive.org.au/what-climate-active/news/climate-active-consultation-update

Footprint Lab (Baynes, T.). (2024). IELab ISAPC Scope 3 Emission Factors: Documentation. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6716d6a76d974d3626a4f2b1/t/675778236175c63984d26043/1733785639065/IELab+ISAPC++Scope+3+Emission+Factors+2024+Documentation.pdf

Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). (July 2024). Scope 3 emissions – Measuring impact: Why Scope 3 deserves our attention more than ever. Discussion Paper. https://gbca-web.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/scope-3-discussion-paper.pdf

Greenhouse Gas Protocol. (n.d.). Scope 3 frequently asked questions. https://ghgprotocol.org/scope-3-frequently-asked-questions-0

GRESB. (April 2025). Scope 3 for infrastructure assets: A data-driven research roadmap for GRESB. www.gresb.com/nl-en/scope-3-for-infrastructure-assets-a-data-driven-research-roadmap-for-gresb/

Infrastructure Australia. (July 2024). Embodied carbon projections for Australian infrastructure and buildings. www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/reports/embodied-carbon-projections-australian-infrastructure-and-buildings

Infrastructure NSW. (April 2024). Embodied carbon measurement for infrastructure: Technical guidance. www.infrastructure.nsw.gov.au/media/ak2o0bqg/decarbonising-infrastructure-delivery-measurement-guidance.pdf

Industrial Ecology Virtual Laboratory (IELab). (n.d.). Homepage. https://ielab.info/

NABERS. (n.d.). NABERS embodied carbon. www.nabers.gov.au/ratings/our-ratings/nabers-embodied-carbon

Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) & GRESB. (March 2023). Technical guidance for accounting and reporting of GHG emissions from real estate operations. https://carbonaccountingfinancials.com/en/newsitem/pcaf-crrem-and-gresbg-release-the-first-version-of-technical-guidance-for-accounting-and-reporting-of-ghg-emissions-form-real-estate-operations

Property Council of Australia. (February 2023). Submission to the Australian Government on climate-related disclosure. https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-04/c2022-314397-property-council-australia.pdf