Behind the scenes at emersus: when LCA meets commitment

In the face of the climate emergency, carbon calculations have become an essential lever for reducing the environmental footprint of buildings. But even the most powerful tool isn't enough on its own. That's why emersus relies on human support, which is essential to fully harness the potential of its platform. The Tech team plays a central role in this. Justine, a low-carbon building engineer passionate about her work, shares her experience and the secrets behind a product design that makes a difference.

1. Can you tell us about your background?

Passionate about architecture and civil engineering for their concrete impact on our environment, I studied Geosciences and Civil Engineering at École des Mines de Nancy. It was during my engineering studies that I first became aware of environmental issues, and with some friends I set up the school's first sustainable development club. Wanting to combine these two fields with international experience, I continued with an MSc in Civil Engineering at TU Delft, specializing in structural engineering, materials, and environment. There, I learned the basics of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in construction and learned to balance technical performance with carbon impact in material selection.

My final project at a major Dutch engineering company allowed me to put these lessons into practice: it focused on studying different construction scenarios for logistics centers, combining timber structures and envelope greening, with a focus on carbon performance.

After graduating and returning to France, my objective was to join a major construction company to have a significant impact. That's how I joined SustainEcho (now emersus), which had just become part of the Egis group. I was drawn to this welcoming small team that offered an exciting mission at the intersection of building expertise and environmental footprint calculation. In addition, being part of an international group makes it easier to collaborate and share experience with a wide range of profiles from different backgrounds.

 

2. Can you share with us one of your favourite passions of the moment?

I really enjoy experimenting with different types of handicrafts. My current passion is knitting - I love the idea of creating something from a simple thread, playing with textures, colors, and shapes... It's a very relaxing hobby, also accessible since you can find lots of second-hand materials, and there's always a new technique to learn: I just finished my first project with cable stitches. It's a great way to keep your hands busy while watching a series or during train journeys, and hand-knitted beanies make great practical gifts!

Another passion I have to mention: my kittens, two black balls of fur adopted in early 2025, who love nibbling on my yarn balls and my plants.

Justine's kittens 👇

3. If you had to sum up your job in 3 words, which would you choose?

It's difficult to summarize my job in 3 words! Spontaneously, I'd say design, adaptation, and curiosity.

4. What are your main responsibilities at emersus?

The emersus technical team brings together software developers, product managers, and carbon expertise for construction.

As a sustainable building engineer, I'm in charge of the latter part, particularly ensuring a bridge between business needs and development implementation. My duties are varied, specifically involving carbon database management, monitoring international LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodologies, and writing "specs" with the product team for developers before implementing new features.

A large part of my work also involves designing and improving emersus CONCEPT models, based on user feedback and in collaboration with Egis experts. I never imagined, after completing my civil engineering degree, that I'd be working in software development. And yet, I learn something new every day! It's very stimulating to work with a small multidisciplinary team, and especially with people committed to a sector that has such an environmental impact.

5. How would you describe your typical day?

I start each day by organizing my "to-do list" on the technical team's Jira board, based on current priorities. After reviewing my messages, I spend my morning on the most complex tasks. For example, updating elements in CONCEPT models, restructuring emission factor databases to integrate into the platform, or conducting business data analysis in Excel. I often find myself immersed in international carbon calculation documentation, from the research phase to interface mockups.

Afternoons are generally reserved for team or work meetings. For example, we lead a working group with Elioth colleagues and Egis Bâtiment Île-de-France on LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) for technical installations, bringing together specialists to share best practices and build a common calculation methodology, taking into account data available on INIES database, the French environmental and health database for the building industry

I regularly meet with Egis experts in France and internationally, such as construction economists, structural engineers, MEP engineers, and carbon experts. These exchanges and feedback directly fuel the continuous improvement of emersus tools.

We meet weekly with the product team to discuss technical specifications for new features and next development steps. My day ends with a technical team meeting to review completed tasks and plan for tomorrow. I then take advantage of the quiet end of the day to continue my morning tasks or do carbon watch. I'm always happy to go to the office, there's really a great atmosphere in the team (and often someone brings breakfast!).

6. In your opinion, what are the main challenges in the building sector regarding decarbonization?

In recent years, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has become more widespread in France, thanks to the E+C- experiment and the carbon component of the French RE2020 regulation. This tool is essential for the ecological transition of the sector, as it enables the development of low-carbon design strategies based on quantified data. For this, having accessible and reliable environmental impact data is essential.

In my opinion, it is crucial to support building professionals in developing their skills in LCA and sustainable construction. This involves education to raise awareness of environmental issues, training in carbon impact calculation methodologies, and sharing experiences from exemplary low-carbon projects to inspire others. For Emersus, offering a simple and accessible LCA platform is essential to help teams gain efficiency and focus on practical eco-design from the early stages of projects.

Another major challenge is reconciling financial and environmental aspects by deconstructing the misconception that a low-carbon project is necessarily more expensive.

Encouraging reuse and the use of recycled materials in projects are effective decarbonization levers that are part of a circular economy approach. Similarly, it is often more advantageous to favor renovation over new construction. By calculating the carbon payback time of different scenarios, we can determine whether renovation is more favorable than demolition/reconstruction.

Finally, adopting an eco-design approach also means looking beyond the simple GHG emissions indicator. A virtuous project must also consider other environmental issues, such as biodiversity preservation and water and energy resource management.

7. What, in your opinion, makes emersus support unique?

For me, it's primarily the proximity with users with whom we collaborate daily to improve the platform. Our support and product team particularly stands out for its responsiveness and quality of listening - two aspects that our clients frequently highlight.

Beyond that, being a relatively small team isn't always an advantage, but it allows us to maintain very strong cohesion, facilitate information exchange, and therefore be more efficient.

Sometimes our small numbers force us to make choices, but what we choose to do, we do with great dynamism and motivation.

Alongside this, we benefit from belonging to the Egis group, which acts as an accelerator for developing new features and staying close to business needs.

Everyone in the team is passionate about what they do, and I think this shows through to us and to emersus users in what we deliver daily.

8. Finally, if you had to describe emersus in 3 words, which would you choose?

Another difficult exercise ! But I would say Innovation, Commitment, and Friendliness

At emersus, LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) calculations take on their full meaning thanks to human, expert, and personalized support. With low-carbon engineers like Justine, building companies can approach their low-carbon transition with complete confidence, and above all, with tangible results. Still hesitating? Only one solution: try emersus.

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PS: This article was written with the precious contribution of Justine. A big thank you to her!