As carbon reduction becomes a strategic imperative, municipal planners and sustainability officers face the challenge of reducing embodied carbon in infrastructure projects. This is a logical step because these emissions account for a significant portion of a project’s total environmental impact.
However, they’re also some of the most difficult to mitigate, since the term “embodied carbon” refers to all emissions generated during the manufacture, transport, installation and maintenance of infrastructure materials. Reducing embodied carbon levels in essential but unseen systems like underground pipe networks, manholes and inspection chambers is the next sustainability frontier.
Rethinking underground infrastructure: The challenge
Historically, underground infrastructure has often been excluded from carbon calculations at the planning stage. This is beginning to change, and infrastructure systems that manage stormwater, wastewater and potable water are being re-evaluated through a sustainability lens. Lifecycle carbon is now a key consideration in public tenders, green building standards and certification frameworks.
This adds another specification criterion for municipal planners, presenting a fresh challenge: How can they specify high-performance infrastructure that’s also low in embodied emissions?
Quantifying environmental performance with EPDs
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are an essential tool for planners wanting to specify underground infrastructure low in embodied carbon. These third-party verified documents detail a product's environmental impact across its full lifecycle, including embodied carbon, proving lower lifecycle emissions.
EPDs help planners and contractors to comply with Green Public Procurement (GPP) policies or sustainability certification systems. They help cities align with EU taxonomy requirements, tender scoring frameworks and national climate action plans. They also make benchmarking products and comparing options easier using consistent and objective criteria.
Making low-carbon infrastructure the new standard
Although municipal planners and contractors can look for products with EPDs, can the market provide what they need?
At Wavin, when we design systems, we develop structural reliability and environmental responsibility in parallel, so planners don’t have to make trade-offs. To make choices even easier, we provide EPDs for many of our core systems.
We also operate according to circularity principles, designing, manufacturing, using and reusing products to keep materials in continuous circulation for as long as possible, rather than following a “take–make–dispose” model.
Circularity in practice: The Wavin Tegra 600 LC
The Wavin Tegra 600 LC inspection chamber is one of the most advanced examples of circular product design in our portfolio.
Designed for long-term performance under challenging urban conditions, it also delivers outstanding environmental credentials. It’s manufactured from up to 70% recycled plastic, and compared to conventional chambers, it uses 30% less total material and 50% less electricity during manufacturing. This innovative inspection chamber design delivers a 60% reduction in carbon emissions across its production phase, without any loss in performance.
Critically, the Wavin Tegra 600 LC has been independently validated to offer a 100-year service life. This means fewer replacements and disruptions, and significantly reduced lifecycle emissions.
Its design also improves flexibility, reducing the likelihood of failure due to soil movement or traffic vibration. The integrated flexible ball joint accommodates directional shifts, maintaining system integrity while reducing stress at connection points; it’s ideal as part of infrastructure systems for high-traffic areas.
Read our blog post “Wavin Tegra 600 LC: A breakthrough in sustainable sewer infrastructure” and learn more about it here.
Smarter systems for lower emissions
Beyond inspection chambers, Wavin’s broader infrastructure solutions also contribute to reduced embodied carbon through efficiency and modularity.
Modular infrastructure systems like Wavin Acaro and Wavin Biax and Apollo PVC-O optimize logistics and simplify installation, cutting emissions related to transport and on-site handling. Their lightweight construction enables more efficient loading, reduces reliance on heavy machinery and supports faster, lower-energy installation methods.
Wavin Biax and Apollo PVC-O, in particular, demonstrates how material innovation can yield environmental and mechanical benefits simultaneously. Manufactured using a biaxial orientation process, the pipe combines strength with material efficiency. It requires less raw material than traditional pressure pipes while providing enhanced internal pressure capacity and impact resistance.
In Brazil, where expanding access to water infrastructure must be balanced with sustainability, Wavin Biax PVC-O has proven to be an ideal fit. It supports the delivery of long-lasting pressure pipe systems that minimize energy consumption during production and installation while ensuring safe, efficient operation over decades.
Similarly, Wavin Acaro provides a durable sanitary pipe system for cities that prioritizes performance in chemically aggressive environments without resorting to high-impact manufacturing techniques. Its chemical resistance and long lifespan reduce the need for early replacements or repairs, minimizing emissions across the system’s operational life.
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A low-carbon infrastructure future
Through a combination of circular design, advanced materials science and validated performance data, our innovation supports cities and contractors in achieving low-carbon goals without compromising modern infrastructure's durability, flexibility or resilience.
Our systems are helping to define a new standard for infrastructure design: One where environmental accountability is embedded in every meter of pipe laid beneath our streets.
To learn more about how smarter materials and design in infrastructure can be low carbon, read our other blogs:
1. Designing for a water-positive future: How infrastructure can help cities give back
