Have long followed the work of Sourcemap, an open source project to map supply chain transparency. Using one of the examples on the site (usually an iPod or the IKEA bed) creates a great discussion in my sustainability workshops and classes.

A recent and informative article on Business of Fashion under the heading of Fashion2.0 talks of Icebreaker and their baacodes, Patagonia and their Footprint Chronicles website , WalMart, IKEA, and others, all tracking the carbons and transport miles of production and assembly.

In construction we are only just starting to think about the carbons of what we do, for constructC02 for example. Who will be the first construction organisation to opening and publicly track the real carbon and construction miles for a project.

And where will the driver or the pressure to do so come from?

As Sourcemap is open, there is in my mind a great student research project here to map the source carbons and carbon footprint for a complete construction project or new build home. Lets really start to understand the impact of construction!