PAS 2080:2023 – what it is, who asks for it, and how to get started

PAS 2080 is often raised when a client, a contractor, or a design team needs confidence that carbon is being managed properly across a project.

If you’ve been asked about PAS 2080 and need a practical way to respond, this guide covers the basics and what to put in place.

What is PAS 2080?

PAS 2080 is a British “Publicly Available Specification” for managing and reducing whole-life carbon in buildings and infrastructure. It sets out a structured approach to:

Governance and responsibilities
Targets and baselines
How carbon is considered in decisions
Monitoring and reporting
continual improvement across the delivery chain

Is PAS 2080 new?

No. It was first published as PAS 2080:2016, and the current version is PAS 2080:2023.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) announced the revised standard and guidance in April 2023, and noted that the standard and guidance are available free of charge.

Who uses PAS 2080?

PAS 2080 is intended for the whole delivery chain. It is relevant to:

Asset owners and managers
Designers
Constructors
Product and material suppliers

In practice, it is most commonly driven by infrastructure clients and large programmes, then reflected in what they ask of contractors and suppliers. For example, National Highways states its carbon management system has achieved PAS 2080 accreditation under SDF2.

PAS 2080 for contractors and specialist contractors

If you’re a contractor being asked about PAS 2080, you'll need to be able to clearly explain how you run carbon on projects.

Typical questions you need to be able to answer:

Who is responsible for carbon and who signs off decisions?
How do you set carbon targets and track progress?
How do you evidence carbon decisions (materials, logistics, plant, programme choices)?
How do you report carbon consistently across projects?

PAS 2080 for building product and material suppliers

For suppliers, PAS 2080 usually translates into better carbon information and clearer evidence that you can support lower-carbon delivery.

You may be asked for:

Carbon data that can be compared across options
Evidence you can support lower-carbon substitutions
Documentation that a contractor or designer can use in their own reporting

PAS 2080 for design and engineering consultancies

For design teams, PAS 2080 connects directly to optioneering and early decisions, when carbon reductions are typically easiest to unlock.

The CLC guidance emphasises using whole-life carbon performance in optioneering and early intervention.

In practice, design teams are often expected to show:

Carbon as a decision factor - how carbon is considered alongside cost, programme and performance
How they work with clients and contractors on targets and trade-offs
How outputs are structured so they can be used downstream

PAS 2080 certification: do you need it?

PAS 2080 can be implemented as a way of working, and there are also formal assurance routes available. National Highways, for example, refers to PAS 2080 accreditation as part of its carbon management system. Whether you need formal certification depends on what the client or framework is asking for. Many organisations start by aligning their approach and evidence, then decide later whether certification is needed.

For SDF2 specifically: direct bidders (Applicants) were expected to have plans in place for PAS 2080 certification (or, for smaller specialist Applicants, an environmental plan aligned to PAS 2080), while non-prime supply chain suppliers aren’t set a separate PAS 2080 certification requirement in the SDF2 documents but are likely to be asked by large primes for PAS 2080-aligned evidence as part of onboarding and delivery.

What dos PAS 2080 assurance involve?

For PAS 2080, “assurance” usually means an independent third party checks that your carbon management system meets the PAS 2080 requirements, based on documented processes and evidence from real projects.

In practice it tends to involve:

a readiness / gap assessment against PAS 2080 (often offered before formal certification)
putting together documented processes (roles, governance, target-setting, decision records, reporting approach) plus supporting templates and examples
an external audit/assessment by a certification or assurance body (review of documents, interviews, and sampling evidence)
then ongoing checks (often periodic reviews/surveillance) to show the system is still being used and improved, not just written once

That’s what organisations mean when they say they’re “PAS 2080 accredited/certified” (e.g. National Highways describing its carbon management system as achieving PAS 2080 accreditation).

PAS 2080 and RICS WLCA: how they fit together

There is a straightforward link between PAS 280 and RICS WLCA:

PAS 2080 is the management approach – governance, targets, decision-making, monitoring and reporting.
RICS WLCA is a professional standard for measuring and reporting whole-life carbon of built assets (the calculation and reporting method).

In practice, PAS 2080 works best when teams have a consistent way to measure and report whole-life carbon. WLCA supports that measurement foundation, while PAS 2080 helps teams use the results to make decisions and reduce carbon over time.

Getting started with PAS 2080 (a practical first pass)

If you’re at the “we’ve been asked about PAS 2080” stage, a sensible starting point is:

Confirm your role (contractor, designer, supplier) and what you can influence.
Choose a consistent WLCA / reporting method (RICS WLCA is a common reference point).
Put simple governance in place (roles, decision records, targets, reporting cadence).
Start with a manageable dataset you can provide reliably, then improve over time (PAS 2080 is built around continual improvement).

PAS 2080 FAQs

What is PAS 2080 in simple terms?
A standard for managing and reducing whole-life carbon in buildings and infrastructure across the value chain.

Who does PAS 2080 apply to?
Asset owners/managers, designers, constructors, and product/material suppliers.

Is PAS 2080 the same as WLCA?
No. PAS 2080 is the management process; WLCA is the measurement and reporting method.

How Seedling can help

If you’re working towards PAS 2080, the sticking point is often getting repeatable carbon reporting in place so teams can use it across bids, onboarding, and delivery.

Seedling's carbon platform and guidance are designed specifically for growing teams who don't have a dedicated carbon expert in-house. We help you to navigate the technicalities of carbon reporting, save time, and meet the expectations of your clients and partners. Our software plus support model is also cost efficient versus traditional consultancies, making us ideal for growing teams without enterprise-level budgets.

With our easy-to-use software, plus one-to-one support from a dedicated carbon expert, Seedling can help you:

Understand the data you need to track carbon impact
Produce WLCA outputs in consistent formats (including RICS-aligned reporting where needed) with our dedicated RICS WLCA reporting tool
Document a clear, evidence-led PAS 2080-aligned approach that matches how you actually work

Looking for a carbon reporting partner to support PAS 2080? Let's chat!