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“The purpose of TERAO is to guide the construction sector, with meaning and pedagogy, towards environmental performance, resilience, and frugality through committed and operational local solutions. The effective use of One Click LCA combined with TERAO’s embodied carbon expertise in China enabled the project to meet the group’s embodied carbon target and get a Gold certificate for the project.”
— Guillaume Rousseil, General Manager of TERAO Group
TERAO, established in 1993, is a global consulting and engineering company that has been involved in energy efficiency and green building engineering for more than 30 years. Headquartered in Paris, the firm is one of the pioneers of energy-saving and sustainable buildings, with a team of over 90+ multidisciplinary engineers.
Since 2008, TERAO is active across Asia with offices in Shanghai, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. TERAO Asia operates across the whole building life cycle — offering various solutions ranging from design including green building specifications, energy efficiency design and calculations, to operations and maintenance covering the energy audits, energy management and certifications, assisting clients with carbon footprint assessment and emissions reductions to help them meet their sustainability goals.
Driving sustainable innovation to transform Forvia Fengcheng Mega Plant into a model of green construction
Forvia is a French global automotive supplier headquartered in Nanterre, France. They are an automotive technology group at the heart of smarter and more sustainable mobility, bringing together expertise in electronics, clean mobility, lighting, interiors, seating, and lifecycle solutions to drive change in the automotive industry. Forvia, through its two entities, Faurecia and Hella, has demonstrated over the years a strong presence in China, with more than 28.000 employees at 95 industrial sites in more than 30 cities.
The progression towards sustainability in industrial construction has been exemplified by the Forvia Fengcheng Mega Plant in Jiangxi, China. This state-of-the-art facility, which serves as a pivotal hub for the production of display technologies, cockpit electronics, and automated driving products, successfully attained LEED BD+C v4 Gold certification, meeting Faurecia’s ambitious group targets for embodied and operational carbon reduction — signifying a critical milestone in the evolution of green industrial construction.
Central to this accomplishment was the strategic application of One Click LCA construction software, which helped in evaluating and optimizing the life-cycle impacts of building project. This case study provides a detailed exploration of the challenges encountered, the solutions implemented, and the resultant successes, showcasing how innovative approaches can significantly advance the sustainability agenda in industrial construction.
The challenge
Achieving the Group's ambitious carbon reduction targets and fulfilling the rigorous requirements for LEED Gold certification posed a significant challenge for the Faurecia Fengcheng project. Among the most demanding objectives was to restrict the construction related CO2 emissions under 700 kgCO2e/m². Initial assessments indicated that the project was poised to exceed this threshold, largely attributable to the significant carbon footprint of materials such as steel and concrete — essential components in large-scale industrial construction. These materials are known for their high environmental impact, largely due to their production processes, which are energy-intensive and emit substantial amounts of greenhouse gases.
The project team encountered intense pressure to harmonize sustainability objectives with cost-effectiveness and adherence to construction timelines. The complexities inherent in plant’s construction made it necessary to not only identify sources of carbon emissions but also to develop actionable strategies to mitigate these emissions. To address these challenges, the project required the adopt a comprehensive and integrated approach for lifecycle assessment, focusing on optimizing every facet of the construction process — from material procurement to waste management — in order to ensure a meaningful reduction in the carbon footprint.
The solution
To resolve these issues, Terao employed One Click LCA to conduct a thorough whole building life cycle assessment of the plant. The assessment was crucial not only for securing LEED certification but also for achieving Faurecia’s broader sustainability objectives. The adoption of One Click LCA enabled the project team to conduct a detailed evaluation of the building's entire life cycle, from the initial design phase to construction and operation, and allowed them to visualize the carbon emissions associated with various materials and construction practices in real time.
This level of transparency empowered the team to explore and implement alternative building solutions, optimize the use of resources, and ensure compliance with the rigorous requirements of LEED Gold certification. The capability to quantify the environmental impacts of various design and material choices in real-time proved transformative, allowing for iterative adjustments and improvements throughout the construction timeline.
“One Click LCA enables us to make data-driven decisions that not only meet but often exceed our sustainability goals, setting a new standard for the industry. Through its comprehensive analysis, One Click LCA becomes not just a tool for compliance, but a catalyst for innovation in green building practices.”
— Eason Yu, Project Manager at TERAO Asia
Innovative approach to materials
The deployment of One Click LCA allowed the project team to identify the top four most carbon-intensive materials, which collectively accounted for nearly 95% of the total embodied carbon emissions:
- Structural steel and steel profiles (45.9%)
- Ready-mix concrete for foundations and internal walls (25.7%)
- Reinforcement for concrete (rebar) (14.8%)
- Paints, coatings, and lacquers (8.1%)
In response to these findings, the project team investigated various alternative material configurations and made a decision to utilize structural steel containing 30% recycled content — exceeding the industry norm by 10%. This strategic decision led to a reduction in the construction’s CO2 footprint to 648 kgCO2e/m², significantly mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, acidification potential, and tropospheric ozone formation. Leveraging One Click LCA's comprehensive analytical capabilities the project team was able to comprehensively assess the environmental impact of each material option, weighing factors such as embodied carbon, resource depletion, and waste generation and was also able to quantify these improvements, thereby providing a clear and data-supported pathway to surpassing LEED certification requirements.
Moreover, the adoption of recycled steel contributed not only to reduced carbon emissions but also supported a circular economy, promoting the reutilization of materials that might otherwise contribute to environmental degradation. 
Achieving and exceeding goals
The application of One Click LCA enabled the Faurecia Fengcheng Mega Plant to not only achieve LEED BD+C v4 Gold certification, but also contribute substantially to a more sustainable building ecosystem. One Click LCA's detailed analysis and optimization features allowed the project team to make well-informed decisions regarding materials and construction methodologies, ultimately reducing the environmental impact of this substantial industrial development.
By integrating life-cycle assessment at every stage of the project, from design through construction and into operational planning, the project team was able to create a holistic sustainability strategy. This approach not only addressed the immediate carbon footprint of the construction process but also considered long-term operational efficiency, ensuring that the building’s environmental performance would continue to improve over its lifecycle.
The successful reduction of embodied carbon in the Faurecia Fengcheng Mega Plant has broader implications for the industrial sector. It demonstrates the viability of sustainable practices in large-scale industrial projects, providing a model that can be replicated across similar developments globally. The insights gained from the project underscore the importance of early-stage integration of sustainability tools like One Click LCA, which can significantly influence project outcomes by enabling proactive rather than reactive carbon management.
Conclusion
The success of the Faurecia Fengcheng Mega Plant exemplifies the power of integrated life-cycle assessment tools, such as One Click LCA, in advancing the construction industry towards more sustainable practices. By emphasizing environmental performance from the outset, the project not only attained LEED Gold certification but also set a new benchmark for sustainable construction within the industrial sector. The lessons learned from this project highlight the importance of innovative material selection, collaboration with suppliers, and the adoption of advanced construction techniques as key enablers of sustainability.
The journey of Faurecia Fengcheng Mega Plant serves as an inspiring case study for other industrial projects aiming to achieve similar sustainability goals. The approach taken — combining rigorous life-cycle assessment with innovative material strategies and construction methods — demonstrates that ambitious carbon reduction targets are achievable even within the challenging context of industrial construction. The plant’s success reinforces the notion that sustainability and industrial progress are not mutually exclusive, but rather can coexist synergistically, driving both environmental and economic benefits.
