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Development of New Platform 'Z-CARBO' That Evaluates Whole Life CarbonSupport for Client Decarbonization Activities Related Disclosures

April 9, 2025

Takenaka Corporation (President: Masato Sasaki), has developed Z-CARBO, a platform for visualizing and assessing a building’s “whole life carbon” footprint (*1) (*2). This system quantitatively evaluates CO2 emissions across a building’s life cycle—from design and construction to post-completion—by integrating AI-analyzed data with the company’s cost estimation system. Drawing on our industry-leading expertise in ZEB certification and decarbonization technologies, we offer comprehensive support to help clients reduce CO2 emissions and enhance transparency in their operations with the goal of minimizing whole-life carbon emissions in all buildings.

  • *1Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated throughout a building’s life cycle from material production to deconstruction.
  • *2Developed in collaboration with Gorlem Inc.

Takenaka Corporation YouTube Channel "Z-CARBO" Video

Background of Development

Reducing CO2 emissions has become a critical priority in corporate business operations. To address this, CO2 emissions from buildings must be assessed as “whole-life carbon,” encompassing not only the construction phase but also the operation and deconstruction stages.

Overview of “Z-CARBO”

Z-CARBO is a platform that seamlessly integrates the planning, operation, and deconstruction stages to visualize and evaluate CO2 emissions throughout a building’s life cycle. It adheres to the “Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Guidelines for Buildings” set by the Architectural Institute of Japan and aligns with calculation methods promoted by various organizations. Using AI, the platform automatically identifies building and equipment items and their quantities from cost estimates, calculating CO2 emissions for each item. Leveraging our extensive project database, we provide tailored decarbonization proposals to our clients.

Features of Evaluation and Operation with Z-CARBO

1. AI-Based Automatic Calculation for Enhanced Efficiency
  1. ・AI learns estimation data of existing buildings
  2. ・AI automatically links planned building estimation data with CO2 emission intensity (*3).
  3. ・This enables proposals for building plans that meet CO2 reduction targets from the initial planning stage.
  • *3CO2 Emission Intensity
    CO2 emission intensity refers to the amount of CO2 emitted per unit of material. This system utilizes an industry-standard database.
2. Proposals Backed by Extensive ZEB Data
  1. ・Built unique database leveraging our industry-leading ZEB certification track record (*4).
  2. ・Predicts “whole-life carbon” emissions from the initial planning stage.
  3. ・Offers specific reduction strategies based on proven performance.
  • *4We hold the highest number of BELS certifications (Japanese Building-Housing Energy-efficiency Labeling System) in the industry.
3. Integrated Decarbonization Support from Planning to Operation and Deconstruction
  1. ・Ensures continuous data management through our integrated design-build approach.
  2. ・Visualizes CO2 emissions and supports decarbonization across the entire life cycle, from design and construction to operation and deconstruction.
  3. ・Collects and analyzes data from design to actual operation on a digital platform to effectively manage CO2 emissions.

Future developments

Z-CARBO will be utilized to support clients decarbonization goals, achieving significant reductions in the whole-life carbon footprint of their buildings.