What type of emissions does operational carbon refer to?

Operational carbon refers specifically to the greenhouse gas emissions that are produced during the operation of a building or facility. This includes emissions from various sources such as heating, cooling, lighting, and the operation of electrical equipment within the building. Essentially, it captures the typical day-to-day energy consumption and its resulting carbon footprint throughout the building's life cycle, excluding other phases like construction or transportation.

In contrast, emissions from vehicles, construction, or the transportation of goods are categorized differently—either as transportation emissions, embodied carbon emissions, or logistics emissions. These categories focus on different phases of a product's lifecycle or activity that do not directly pertain to the ongoing operation of a built environment.