Carbon First
Carbon decision making, transformed
Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time and one of the greatest opportunities to rethink how we plan, design and deliver infrastructure. As the world builds faster than ever, the construction industry now accounts for 39% of global carbon emissions, increasing pressure to reduce impact while delivering resilient, future-ready projects.
Carbon First is an award-winning platform designed to help organizations take action earlier. By identifying whole-life carbon reduction opportunities during the earliest planning and design stages, it enables teams to make more informed decisions, strengthen net-zero strategies and improve project outcomes across the full asset lifecycle.
Driving smarter carbon decisions from the start
Carbon First helps users uncover bespoke carbon reduction opportunities before detailed designs or quantities are finalized. By bringing carbon insights into early project planning, teams can establish accurate Key Performance Indicators and make strategic decisions with greater confidence. The platform quickly runs and compares multiple project options through an intuitive visual dashboard, making it easier to evaluate carbon baselines, assess trade-offs and explore reduction opportunities across every stage of the project lifecycle.
Designed to support front-end loading in infrastructure planning, Carbon First helps projects and portfolios improve efficiency, delivery certainty and long-term sustainability. The platform aligns with the Institute of Civil Engineers’ Project 13 principles, supporting digital transformation and more collaborative, outcome-focused infrastructure delivery. It can also be re-run across different schemes, options and design changes, giving teams the flexibility to test ideas, compare outcomes and respond to evolving project requirements with greater speed and clarity.
Ready to build a lower-carbon future?
Here's how it works
Build it up quickly and effortlessly by choosing the key components. You don’t need a detailed design or bill of quantities to get started. The earlier Carbon First is used, the greater the carbon reduction potential.
The platform provides a high-level carbon baseline within a few minutes. You can then analyze the key hotspots across the whole project life cycle.
Finally, explore multiple life cycle scenarios in real time so you can start effective carbon reduction conversations throughout your supply chain.
This is what you'll save
In its project applications to date, Carbon First has reduced carbon assessment time by up to 90% and has offered up to 50% of potential carbon savings across a project’s life cycle.*
The potential minimum carbon saving is 10% of a scheme. The carbon market price is currently a minimum of $11.55 (£10) per tonne, but that’s going to increase significantly in the next five years. If you expect 5,511.55 tons CO2e (5,000 tonnes of CO2e) in your project, you can save at least $57,750 (£50,000).
The earlier Carbon First is used, the greater your savings and the lower your costs.
*According to results achieved across several highway construction projects.
This is how it benefits you
It’s a web-based, easy-to-use platform that provides visual outputs on an engaging dashboard so you can compare design options.
Carbon First compares embodied and operational carbon impacts in minutes across a broad range of industry assets.
By identifying carbon reduction opportunities in real time, it empowers meaningful dialogue with internal stakeholders and supply chains.
Carbon First provides unlimited opportunities to explore and re-run carbon reduction scenarios covering your whole project or program cycle.
Carbon First incorporates carbon as a powerful decision support metric at the earliest project stages to identify the best solution for a project, scheme or across a portfolio.
By turning carbon into a tangible metric, it provides data for strategic and compliance needs.
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Carbon decision making, transformed
Download our Carbon First factsheet to learn how Jacobs is helping clients reduce embodied carbon across infrastructure projects through practical strategies, low-carbon materials and innovative design approaches.
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