Development of a carbon emission calculation and evaluation grading framework for public building certification schemes: integrating BIM and LCA

Purpose This study focuses on the quantitative evaluation of carbon emissions intensity, with a particular emphasis on developing personalized evaluation benchmarks. It aims to address key challenges, such as inaccurate carbon emission measurements during the design stage and poorly targeted indicator levels for evaluation, ultimately contributing to more effective carbon reduction in the building sector. Design/methodology/approach The BIM-LCA-enabled framework utilizes information model fusion algorithms to enhance calculation accuracy, creates robust constraint indicators tailored to various carbon emission types and grades carbon emissions based on these indicators. Findings The effectiveness of the BIM-LCA-enabled framework is validated through a case study of an educational building in Southwestern China. Originality/value This study introduces a framework for calculating and evaluating carbon emissions within public building certification schemes, improving both accuracy and the customization of carbon reduction metrics. Additionally, it develops a BIM-based system to support and streamline the implementation of this framework, offering a practical solution for the AEC industry to assess and reduce life cycle carbon emissions in public buildings.