Embodied carbon data for FF&E: what exists, what does not, and what to tell a client

At a glance

The first five kinds follow the RICS standard (2nd edition, version 3, Table B1 and section 4.7), which prefers them in this order. The last row is ours.

Which data to use: a decision flow

The RICS standard sets an order of preference for carbon data. The first choice for a product is an EPD from the chosen manufacturer that covers the actual product. If there is none, use a collective EPD from the industry, and if there is none of those, generic data from a database that suits the region (section 4.7.2). The flow below applies that order to an FF&E schedule. Run it for each schedule line, not for the whole schedule: one line can have a product EPD while the next has nothing.

What exists, and what does not

What exists.

• EPDs for products and materials. Furniture EPDs follow EN 15804+A2 and the furniture product category rules (NPCR 026 Part B, version 3.0, valid to 8 October 2027). Results are per declared unit, such as one chair or one kilogram of a component, and an EPD declares modules A1 to A3, A4, C1 to C4 and D at a minimum; the use stage is optional (NPCR 026, section 5.2). How to read an EPD shows what to check.
• A UK data repository. The RICS standard says to use the Built Environment Carbon Database (BECD) as the first point of reference for UK construction products. We could not open its site, so we cannot say which furniture products it holds.
• Generic carbon databases. The best known is the ICE database. On the publisher’s page we read on 6 November 2026, its free version (Educational V5.0, June 2026) is for educational use only and must not be used for project calculations. The page says non-educational use is no longer permitted from 30 September 2026 and points commercial users to a separate commercial database. Check the licence before any figure from it goes into a client answer.
• A method. The RICS whole life carbon standard, below.

What we found does not exist.

• An EPD of a one-off piece made for your project. See how to read an EPD.
• A published carbon factor for “a bespoke dining table” or for finished bespoke joinery. We found none. A figure with no source is not an answer.
• A sourced spend-based factor for bespoke FF&E. Methods that multiply money spent by a factor exist in corporate carbon reporting. The RICS standard does not describe one for FF&E and we found no source for such factors, so none is given.
• Anything about a particular supplier. Nothing on this sheet says that the studio or any partner workshop holds carbon data. Ask each supplier what it can document, and say so in your answer if the answer is none.

What the RICS standard asks of the data

The standard is Whole life carbon assessment for the built environment, RICS professional standard, global, 2nd edition (September 2023), version 3 (August 2024), effective from 1 July 2024. The RICS page we read on 6 November 2026 lists no newer edition. Six points matter for FF&E.

• FF&E is in scope of a fit-out. A Category B fit-out includes loose FF&E (section 3.6). A fit-out assessment may cover any scope of works, if the results are reported against the right element categories, every life-cycle stage is assessed and replacement cycles are reflected.
• The terms. Upfront carbon is the material and construction impact up to practical completion (modules A0 to A5). Embodied carbon adds the in-use material impacts, including replacement, and end of life (B1 to B5 and C1 to C4). Whole life carbon adds operational energy and water.
• The study period. For a standalone fit-out the standard asks for 20 and 60 years, with reasonable replacement, repair and maintenance scenarios, and says a 10-year period may help to show the waste in short fit-out cycles (section 4.2).
• Replacement counts. Unless there is better data, the UK default life for loose furniture and fittings is 10 years (Table 20). A piece that lasts longer, or that can be repaired, lowers the embodied carbon over the period. The standard adds that longevity and retention are usually preferable. See spares, attic stock and replacement cycles.
• The data. An EPD should be independently verified to ISO 14025, with third-party verification preferred, and EPDs to EN 15804 are preferred. The assessor must state the source of every dataset and, for generic data, its region and whether it is production- or consumption-based. For a compliant assessment, the ten highest-impact material datasets get a confidence score (section 4.10, Appendix B).
• Who does it. A designer’s answer to a client is not a compliant whole life carbon assessment. If the client needs one, an assessor carries it out and the designer supplies quantities, documents and data.

Answering the client, and the benchmarks you will be shown

Clients quote benchmarks. One published landlord brief for office fit-out (version 1, 2025) says the average upfront embodied carbon of a Category B fit-out is 190 kgCO2e per square metre, quoting a contractor’s paper, and that the first fit-out of a space can be 20 to 30 per cent of a building’s upfront embodied carbon. Those are the client’s figures, second-hand, for whole office fit-outs per square metre of floor area. They are not for FF&E alone, and they cannot be divided up or compared with a total for a set of furniture.

The same brief asks contractors to complete an embodied carbon request for information and to supply EPDs, and says a reuse strategy has been its most effective means of cutting embodied carbon. Each client sets its own targets and wants its own data, so read the brief you have been given.

A reply that works has three parts: what you can document, what you can estimate and how, and what you cannot give. The first template below does that. Do not give one total that mixes the three without saying so.

Thank you for your question about the embodied carbon of the FF&E at [project]. For [n] of [m] schedule lines the supplier has product-specific EPDs, listed with declared unit, modules and valid-to date: [list]. For [lines] we can give a bill of materials and an estimate using [named datasets, version and year] for modules [A1 to A3]; each figure is labelled as an estimate with its sources. For [lines] no carbon data to a stated source exists, so we give no figure and show what we would need. We have not included [transport, installation, use, replacement over the study period, end of life] unless stated. Benchmarks in your brief ([name, version]) are for whole fit-outs per square metre and cannot be compared with a total for FF&E alone. If you need a whole life carbon assessment to the RICS standard, an assessor would carry it out and we would supply quantities and documents.

For each item in Schedule [ ], [Supplier] is to provide: (a) a bill of materials with the mass or area of each material and the finish system; (b) any EPD that covers the item or its main materials, with programme, number, version, valid-to date, declared unit and modules declared; (c) the origin of the main materials and the route to site; and (d) a statement of what carbon data it holds, or that it holds none. The information is requested to answer the client's carbon query. No figure is to be supplied unless its source and boundary are stated.

[x] kgCO2e, estimate, modules [A1 to A3], for [item, declared unit]. Data: [EPD ref / dataset name, version, year, region]. Quantities: [bill of materials, date]. Not included: [ ]. Confidence: [product-specific / collective / generic].

Standards and sources

• RICS: Whole life carbon assessment for the built environment, 2nd edition, Version 3 (August 2024): effective 1 Jul 2024; read 6 Nov 2026.
• BS EN 15804:2012+A2:2019: Current, Under Review (BSI, 6 Nov 2026); not read. BS EN ISO 14025:2010: Withdrawn 9 Jul 2026.
• NPCR 026 Part B for Furniture, version 3.0 (EPD Norway, 8 Oct 2024): section 5.2; valid to 8 Oct 2027; read 6 Nov 2026.
• ICE Database (Circular Ecology), Educational V5.0, June 2026: educational use only; read 6 Nov 2026.
• A UK landlord's published fit-out sustainability brief, version 1 (2025): client source; figures not independently verified.

Questions we are asked

What is embodied carbon in FF&E?

The greenhouse gas emissions caused by making, delivering and installing the furniture, and, in the RICS definition, by maintaining, replacing and disposing of it. Upfront carbon is the part up to completion. It is expressed in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (kgCO2e).

Can I give a client an embodied carbon figure for a bespoke table?

Only as an estimate, and only with its sources. A one-off piece has no EPD of its own, so the route is a bill of materials with an EPD or generic value for each material, labelled as an estimate. Where no data exists, say so and give no number.

Does bespoke furniture have an EPD?

A one-off piece made for a project does not. Some manufacturers publish EPDs for standard products, and materials may have their own. How to read an EPD sets out what to check before you rely on one.

Can I use the ICE database for a client carbon calculation?

Check the licence first. On the publisher’s page we read on 6 November 2026, the free Educational version must not be used for project calculations, and non-educational use is no longer permitted from 30 September 2026; commercial users are pointed to a separate database.

Is there a standard method for whole life carbon?

Yes. The RICS professional standard (2nd edition, version 3, effective 1 July 2024) is the method named by clients and consultants in the UK. EPDs follow BS EN 15804+A2, and furniture EPDs the furniture product category rules. A designer’s estimate is not a compliant assessment.

What should I say if I have no carbon data?

Say so, and say what you would need: a bill of materials, EPDs for the main materials, or the supplier’s own documented data. A reply that says what is documented, what is estimated and what is unavailable is more useful to a client than a single unsourced number.

Does a longer-lasting piece have less embodied carbon?

Over a study period, usually yes, because fewer replacements are counted. The RICS standard says longevity and retention are usually preferable for reducing life-cycle carbon. A piece that can be repaired or re-covered helps, as do spares ordered with the run.