Publications

• Barrett, J., Pye, S., Betts-Davies, S., Eyre, N., Broad, O., Price, J., Norman, J., Anable, J., Bennett, G., Brand, C., Carr-Whitworth, R., Marsden, G., Oreszczyn, T., Giesekam, J., Garvey, A., Ruyssevelt, P. and Scott, K. (2021) The role of energy demand reduction in achieving net-zero in the UK. Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions. Oxford, UK. ISBN: 978-1-913299-11-8 Available here
• Giesekam, J; Norman, J; Garvey, A; Betts-Davies, S (2021) Science-Based Targets: On Target? Sustainability 2021, 13, 1657. Available open access here
• Scott K, Giesekam J, Barrett J & Owen A (2019) Bridging the climate mitigation gap with economy-wide material productivity, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Volume 23, Issue 4, Pages 918-931. Available here
• Owen A, Giesekam J & Barrett J (2018) Resource efficiency metrics, Report to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. EV0277. Main report here Short summary here
• Roelich K & Giesekam J (2019) Decision making under uncertainty in climate change mitigation: introducing multiple actor motivations, agency and influence, Climate Policy, Volume 19, Issue 2. Available open access here
• Giesekam J, Densley-Tingley D & Cotton I (2018) Aligning carbon targets for construction with (inter)national climate change mitigation commitments, Energy and Buildings, Volume 165, Pages 106-117. Available open access here
• Densley-Tingley D, Giesekam J & Cooper-Searle S (2018) Applying circular economic principles to reduce embodied carbon, Book chapter in Embodied Carbon in Buildings: Measurement, Management and Mitigation. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-72795-0
• Giesekam J & Pomponi F (2018) Briefing: Embodied carbon dioxide assessment in buildings: guidance and gaps, Proceedings of the ICE - Engineering Sustainability, Volume 171, Issue 7. Available here
• Barrett J, Scott K, Owen A & Giesekam J (2017) Invisible Energy Policy – Analysis of the link between consumption and energy demand. Proceedings of the 4th Sustainable Thermal Energy Management International Conference (SuSTEM), 28-30 June 2017, Alkmaar, The Netherlands. Available here
• Cooper S, Giesekam J, Hammond G, Norman J, Owen A, Rogers J & Scott K (2017) Thermodynamic insights and assessment of the circular economy, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 162, Pages 1356-1367 Available open access here
• Giesekam J, Densley-Tingley D & Barrett J (2016) Building on the Paris Agreement: making the case for embodied carbon intensity targets in construction, In: Zero Carbon Buildings Today and in the Future 2016, Birmingham City University, 8-9th September, 2016, Birmingham, UK. Available here
• Giesekam J, Barrett J & Taylor P (2018) Scenario analysis of embodied greenhouse gas emissions in UK construction, Proceedings of the ICE - Engineering Sustainability, Volume 171, Issue 4, Pages 178-190 Available open access here
• Giesekam J, Barrett J & Taylor P (2016) Construction sector views on low carbon building materials, Building Research and Information, Volume 44, Issue 4, Pages 423-444 Available open access here
• Steele K, Hurst T & Giesekam J (2015) Green Construction Board Low Carbon Routemap for the Built Environment 2015 Routemap Progress Technical Report Available here
• Giesekam J, Barrett J, Taylor P & Owen A (2014) The greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options for materials used in UK construction, Energy and Buildings, Volume 78, August 2014, Pages 202-214 Available here
• Jacques D, Gooding J, Giesekam J, Crook R & Tomlin A (2014) Methodology for the assessment of PV capacity over a city region using low-resolution LiDAR data and application to the City of Leeds (UK), Applied Energy, Volume 124, Pages 28-34 Available here
• Wiedmann T, Crawford R, Seo S & Giesekam J (2013) The Industrial Ecology Virtual Laboratory and its application to sustainability and environmental engineering - the case of low carbon living. Sustainable Engineering Society (SEng) 2013 Conference 18-20 September 2013 National Convention Centre, ACT, Australia.
• Gooding J, Edwards H, Giesekam J & Crook R (2013) Solar City Indicator: A Methodology to Predict City Level PV Installed Capacity by Combining Physical Capacity and Socio-economic Factors, Solar Energy, Volume 95, September 2013, Pages 325-335. Available here
• Edwards H, Giesekam J, Gooding J, Hardy P & Crook R (2012) Solar City Indicator: A methodology and ranking of the potential for PV in UK cities, 8th Photovoltaic Science, Applications and Technology Conference Proceedings, Published by the Solar Energy Society. (awarded best paper)

Presentations

• Giesekam, J (2021) Deconstructing carbon, 3rd November, ASBP & ACAN COP26 fringe event, Glasgow. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2021) Regulating embodied carbon, 29th September, Institution of Structural Engineers Climate Emergency Conference 2021. download slides or watch recording
• Giesekam, J (2021) Science Based Targets: on target?, 25th March, CREDS Whole Centre Meeting 7, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2020) Capital carbon of transportation infrastructure, 25th November, Department for Transport, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2020) 2020 Unwin Lecture: Zero Carbon and Infrastructure, 8th October, Institution of Civil Engineers, UK. download slides or watch recording
• Giesekam, J (2020) Capital carbon inventory seedcorn project, 29th September, Department for Transport Symposium for Transport Decarbonisation, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2020) Embodied carbon - top down targets, 20th July, LETI working group, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2019) We need a net-zero built environment roadmap, 27th November, Carbon Crunch, Institution of Civil Engineers, London, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J and Barrett, J (2019) Reducing climate impacts from construction: experiences from the UK, 19th November, Mistra Carbon Exit webinar series. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2019) The role of low carbon construction standards, 24th May, Policy Design for Greening Construction Supply Chains, Stockholm, Sweden. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2019) From Paris to policies: tackling embodied carbon in construction, 29th January, Building a climate-neutral Europe with natural bio-based construction materials, Brussels, Belgium. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2018) A carbon portrait of construction, 1st November, Delivering Healthy Buildings, Bristol, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2018) From Paris to projects: your role in climate action, 24th October, ICE Global Engineering Congress, London, UK. download slides or watch recording
• Giesekam, J (2018) From Paris to Powys: the need for low carbon housing, 11th October, CHC One Big Housing Conference, Llandrindod Wells, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2018) The role of timber in meeting carbon targets, 14th June, WoodBUILD Wales 2018, Cardiff, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2018) From Paris to projects: aligning carbon targets in construction, 19th April, UKGBC event on Advancing net zero: next steps in holistic carbon reduction, London, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2018) The material demand of buildings: insights from the UK and challenges for a global model, 9th March, IEA Expert Dialogue on Materials Trends in Buildings Construction, Paris, France. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2018) Sustainability report for the UK built environment - doing well or could do better?, 8th March, Ecobuild, London, UK. watch recording download slides
• Giesekam, J (2017) UK carbon emissions in design, construction and operation, 7th March, Ecobuild, London, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2017) Healthy Planet: a resource efficient future, 15th February, Healthy Buildings Expo, UCL, London, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2016) Barriers to low carbon innovation, 30th November, Innovative paths to low carbon infrastructure, CIRIA offices, London, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2016) Building on the Paris Agreement: the role of low carbon construction in the UK, 29th November, Carbon Crunch 2016, Institution of Civil Engineers, London, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2016) Where is the carbon in construction?, 10th November, Construction Climate Challenge seminar: Reducing carbon in infrastructure construction, Institute of Engineering and Technology, Birmingham, UK. watch recording download slides
• Giesekam, J (2016) Embodied carbon and strategies for reduction, 14th September, ASBP/ISOBIO event, University of Bath, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J., Densley-Tingley, D., Barrett, J. (2016) Building on the Paris Agreement: making the case for embodied carbon intensity targets in construction, 9th September, Zero Carbon Buildings Today and in the Future 2016, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2016) What is the role of the construction sector and the National Infrastructure Plan in delivering material efficiency?, 12th May, The RSA, London, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2016) Embodied carbon in construction: a CIEMAP perspective, 11th May, Sturgis Carbon Profiling Offices, London, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2016) Drivers and barriers to the adoption of sustainable materials, 5th April, CIRIA Offices, London, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2015) Reducing embodied carbon in construction: developing a UK model and policy pathways, 23rd September 2015, Nottingham Trent University, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2015) Reducing embodied carbon in construction. Demonstrating the need for a policy response with the UK Buildings Embodied Carbon Model, 23rd June 2015, University of Leeds, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2015) From targets to benchmarks: developing a UK Buildings Embodied Carbon Model, 22nd April 2015, LoLo Conference, Sustainability and Buildings - walking the tightrope to 2050, Loughborough University, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2015) Reducing embodied carbon in the UK construction sector, 23rd January 2015, University of Leeds, UK. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2013) Another Brick In The Wall? Reducing the use of carbon-intensive materials in the UK construction sector, 12th September 2013, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. download slides
• Giesekam, J (2013) Another Brick In The Wall? Reducing the use of carbon-intensive materials in the UK construction sector, 3rd April 2013, University of Leeds, UK. download lo-res slides
• Giesekam, J (2012) I'm forever plotting bubbles: visualizing the growth in global consumption, 28th June 2012, University of Leeds, UK. download slides
• Edwards H, Giesekam J, Gooding J, Hardy P, Crook R (2012) Solar City Indicator: A methodology and ranking of the potential for PV in UK cities, PVSAT-8, 3rd April 2012, Newcastle, UK. download slides

Recent News

• On the 11th November the UKGBC launched their Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap for the UK built environment. I have been working with Arup and a range of industry stakeholders on delivery of the roadmap over the past year. You can watch a recording of the launch from the UK Pavillion in the Blue Zone at COP26. There will also be an industry facing launch in London on the 8th December. The roadmap includes a Pathway to Net Zero for the UK Built Environment, a Technical Report, a Summary for Policy-Makers and a set of Stakeholder Action Plans.

  On the 3rd November I presented on embodied carbon at the Deconstructing Carbon COP26 fringe event hosted by ACAN and the ASBP. Slides from my presentation can be downloaded here. The other speakers included Kat Scott (dRMM), Ann-Marie Fallon (Architype) and Andrew Waugh (Waugh Thistleton). A recording of the whole event is available on Youtube.

  On the 20th October I gave oral evidence to the ongoing Environmental Audit Committee inquiry on the sustainability of the built environment. You can watch a recording of the session here and I have compiled a thread of relevant footnotes and links to documents we discussed over on Twitter The enquiry will be taking further evidence until Spring 2022.

  On the 6th October the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS) launched a new report on the role of energy demand reduction in achieving net-zero in the UK. The report microsite includes additional sectoral reports, briefings, explainers and blogs. You can also watch a recording of the launch event featuring Chris Stark (CCC), Caterina Brandmayr (Green Alliance), Rebecca Willis (Lancaster University) and the report authors.

  On the 5th October I took part in a panel discussion launching the Institution of Civil Engineers 2021 State of the Nation report. The report focusses on six key actions that all civil engineers can take to act on climate change. The launch featured contributions from project steering group members including Bridget Rosewell (NIC), Shamit Gaiger (AECOM), Kaye Pollard (Mott MacDonald) and myself. A recording should be available shortly.

  On the 29th September I presented on the regulation of embodied carbon at the Institution of Structural Engineers 2021 Climate Emergency Conference. You can watch a recording of the session or download slides from the event.

  After 10 years at the University of Leeds on the 20th September I started my new Chancellors Fellowship at the University of Strathclyde. My new email address is jannik.giesekam@strath.ac.uk - please use this for all correspondance. I no longer have access to my old Leeds email and will not receive any correspondance sent there.

  In July I was part of the author team that launched the Part Z proposed amendment to building regulations. The Part Z amendment and associated draft approved document provide a proof of concept regulation for embodied carbon in buildings. The campaign has already received a large number of endorsements from Grosvenor, Stanhope, Landsec, Willmott Dixon, BAM, Laing O’Rourke, Arup, WSP, Cundall, RIBA, CIBSE, and many others. You can find out more at the Part Z website, or read coverage in Building, Dezeen, RIBA J, or Building Design.

  In May I submitted written evidence to the ongoing Environmental Audit Committee inquiry on the sustainability of the built environment. You can read my submission and other submissions here. The inquiry will continue taking oral evidence in the autumn.

  In January 2021 I published a paper with colleagues Jonathan Norman, Alice Garvey, and Sam Betts-Davies in open access journal Sustainability. The paper assessed progress amongst early adopters of the Science Based Targets Initiative and can be downloaded for free here. The paper was prepared in summer 2020 and published in January 2021, a week after the initiative published their own progress report. Our study was entirely independent and assessed a smaller sample in greater detail. See my twitter thread for a summary of the key findings and differences between the reports.

  On the 11th of December 2020 UKGBC launched their project to develop a Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap for the UK built environment, scheduled for launch at COP26. I joined the event panel alongside Charlie Foster from NatWest, Tom Spurrier from Hoare Lea, Will Hall from BEIS, Martina Otto from UNEP, Stephen Richardson from WorldGBC, and John Alker from UKGBC. More information on the project can be found here alongside slides from the event.

  In November I gave a presentation on capital carbon in transportation infrastructure to the Department for Transport Scientific Advisory Council. Slides can be downloaded here.

  In October I gave the 2020 Unwin Lecture alongside Tim Chapman (Arup) and Maria Manidaki (Mott MacDonald). The lecture presented results from an update of the 2013 Infrastructure Carbon Review datasets prepared as part of the ongoing ICE Carbon Project. Slides can be downloaded here. A recording of the event can be viewed here.

  For older news articles please click here.

Research Interests

My research focuses on the role of material efficiency and industrial energy demand reduction in securing a low carbon future. My main research interests are in mapping economy wide material and energy flows, embodied carbon and materials innovation in the construction industry, and the automated assessment of microgeneration potential. Check out my presentation slides and publications for more detail.

About

I am a recently appointed Chancellor's Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. Prior to September 2021 I spent a decade at the University of Leeds. During that time I was a Research Fellow in Industrial Climate Policy at the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions and a Research Fellow in Energy, Materials and Climate Policy at the Centre for Industrial Energy, Materials and Products. Prior to which I completed a PhD on embodied carbon mitigation in the UK construction industry.

My research focusses on climate change mitigation in industrial supply chains, with a particular emphasis on the UK construction industry. This includes work on the policy and practices required to deliver net zero carbon buildings and infrastructure and a more circular economy. I have published widely on these topics (see publications). I have given invited talks, contributed to guidance documents, served on steering groups and acted as a technical reviewer for groups such as the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC). I have also undertaken work for the Green Construction Board, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) and the Scottish Government. In addition to my academic work I undertake a small number of consultancy projects each year - past clients include Zero Waste Scotland, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). Please get in touch if you'd like more information about my work or would like to collaborate on a future project.

Contact

Email: jannik [at] jannikgiesekam [dot] co [dot] uk

Connect with me on LinkedIn, ResearchGate or Twitter

At every level the greatest obstacle to transforming the world is that we lack the clarity and imagination to conceive that it could be different.

Roberto Unger