Embodied Carbon
Researchers in a laboratory at Oregon State University study the properties of cross-laminated timber. CLTs are a way to reduce the embodied impacts of a structural system.
“Embodied carbon” typically refers to the upfront greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing building materials.
Structural materials like steel and concrete tend to have the highest embodied carbon within a building, but all the other products, even down to interior finishes like drywall and carpet, come into play as well. To learn about the embodied carbon of a specific product, look to an environmental product declaration. A whole-building life-cycle assessment is necessary to understand the emissions associated with an entire project.
Embodied Carbon
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Can Concrete Save Us? Locking Up Carbon in Building Materials
Feature
Concrete is responsible for a huge proportion of global carbon dioxide emissions. A few companies want to reverse this cycle by sequestering carbon in building materials.
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Cladding: More Than Just a Pretty Façade
Feature
Cladding materials should be chosen to minimize environmental impacts and help maximize a building’s energy performance.
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Raze or Retrofit? Six Extraordinary Answers to an Everyday Question
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Saving a building is usually an environmental win, but thoughtful renovation isn’t easy. And there comes a time to tear things down.
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EPDs Are the Future of the Building Industry, Whether You Like It or Not
Feature
Environmental product declarations are taking off, but can they actually fly? Experts share the ups and downs of this promising but imperfect transparency tool.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Understanding Emission Scopes in the GHG Protocol
Explainer
The GHG Protocol’s three emission scopes acknowledge the complexities of supply and demand while also encouraging sector-wide alignment, consistent transparency, and support for science-based decarbonization targets.
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Building Decarbonization: How LCA and EPDs Fit in
Explainer
Life-cycle assessment and environmental product declarations reveal embodied carbon and other impacts, but it’s important to know their limits.
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Building Decarbonization: Learn the Lingo
Explainer
Building decarbonization 101 for architects, engineers, and sustainability consultants cutting emissions from building materials and operations.
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Weighing Embodied vs. Operational Carbon Tradeoffs
Explainer
There can be a seesaw dynamic between operational and embodied carbon. Under what circumstances is a tradeoff worth the price
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Fiberglass, XPS, Cork? Insulation Options for LEED v4 and Living Buildings
Product Review
Choosing insulation with an eye to points in LEED v4 or Living Building Challenge compliance? Here’s how insulation materials compare.
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New Blowing Agents Revolutionize XPS Industry
Product Review
Due to regulatory changes in Canada and certain U.S. states, manufacturers will be offering XPS with low global warming potential starting in 2021.
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Blue Planet: Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration
Product Review
Blue Planet turns industrial CO2 into aggregate, cost-effectively sequestering carbon while producing a viable commodity.
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Rapidly Renewable Hemp Flooring and Lumber
Product Review
Hemp is a sustainable, low-embodied-carbon building material, but few products are actually made from it. HempWood is out to change that with its flooring and non-structural lumber made from hemp fibers.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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Behind Humanscale’s Living Product Challenge Certification
News Analysis
Going big, committing early, and removing unneeded chemistry were key ingredients in certifying the Diffrient chair and Float table under LPC.
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Embodied Carbon Tools: Assessing the Options
News Analysis
Interest in embodied carbon is growing. Here’s a guide to the tools that can help you measure and reduce these emissions on projects.
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Cities Crack Down on Buildings via Performance Standards
News Analysis
Stringent performance standards for existing buildings are a new idea that’s shaking up the industry.
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The Exponential Growth of Embodied Carbon Accounting
News Analysis
Use of whole-building life-cycle assessment tools like Tally is spiking. Why?
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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The Universal Low-Carbon Building Standard’s Path to Adoption
Op-Ed
To decarbonize the building sector, we need to align our efforts. Let’s get to it.
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COP28: Noise and Progress
Op-Ed
The COP28 politics and protests were crucial, but behind the scenes, it was all about good-faith collaboration, community, and commitments.
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Material Transparency for LEED v4: EPDs and HPDs for Metal Studs
Blog Post
Reducing your building’s carbon footprint or health impacts? Going after new LEED credits? Transparency documents for steel studs can help.
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Google Goes Public with Ambitious Carpet Tile Standard
Blog Post
With a new procurement program, Google adopted comprehensive sustainability requirements for modular carpet tile that raise the bar for major manufacturers.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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Wood: Is It Still Good? Part Two: Moving from Carbon to Climate
Spotlight Report
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Biobased Building Materials: the Hype, the Hope, the … Hemp?
Webcast
This webcast explores the promising future of biobased materials in commercial construction.
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Wood's Latest Move: from Carbon Neutral to Climate Smart
Webcast
If we’re going to start using a lot more wood in buildings, we need to think hard about where that wood is going to come from and how it will be harvested.
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Let’s Get Real about Wood’s Carbon Footprint
Webcast
You’ve probably heard that wood products are carbon neutral. You might also have heard that timber harvesting causes immense carbon emissions. Which is it? Could it be both?
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