Understanding the Impacts of Embodied Carbon

Over the past decade, the construction industry has made significant strides in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the built environment by focusing on operational-energy consumption from lighting, cooling, heating, hot water, and other plug loads. But in recent years, the industry’s focus has widened to include a less obvious source of GHG emissions – embodied carbon. 

Often thought of as “supply-chain carbon,” embodied carbon is inclusive of all GHG emissions associated with construction, including those from extracting, transporting, manufacturing, and installing building materials on site, as well as the operational and end-of-life emissions from those materials. For new buildings, the climate impacts of embodied carbon are nearly even with those of operational energy. But unlike operational carbon, embodied carbon can be more difficult to measure and track. 

Through focused efforts, we have advanced our embodied carbon expertise to help our clients tackle ambitious sustainability goals while balancing building performance objectives. This includes implementing programs and processes to track and reduce embodied carbon throughout the building lifecycle.

Material Impacts

For many buildings, the product stage is the largest contributor to its total embodied carbon emissions. At a project’s earliest stages, our clients are seeking guidance on material selection that will minimize GHG emissions while meeting budget constraints and design intent.

As a Pilot Partner of Building Transparency, a nonprofit organization that provides open access data and tools to address embodied carbon, we utilize the database of project-specific Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) across all major trades, including structural materials, interior finishes, and fixtures. We also utilize Building Transparency’s Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3 tool) to assess and compare baseline carbon intensity during the early stages of projects and work with clients and designers to target and actualize carbon reduction opportunities.

Establishing an understanding of the range of potential and preferred products and materials using the EC3 tool also allows us to raise awareness and provide education in the trade contractor community, ensuring that small businesses and trade contractors are positioned to deliver on low embodied carbon commitments.

The policy picture

Our professionals invest significant time in understanding continuously evolving federal- and state-level programs aimed at reducing the embodied carbon of construction materials. Underpinning these various regulations are a number of carbon accounting standards, frameworks, and voluntary labels for high performers – all of which should be taken into consideration during the early stages of a project.

One such piece of legislation is the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which stimulates the nation’s progress toward clean energy and decarbonization by allocating more than $300 billion to climate-related initiatives. A key provision of the IRA allocates funding to various agencies for the procurement of low-GHG construction materials, emerging technologies, and sustainable practices.

In May of 2023, the General Services Administration began piloting Buy Clean Inflation Reduction Act Requirements for low-embodied carbon construction materials in government projects. With the federal government being the largest single purchaser of construction materials in the United States, the implications of these requirements will certainly be felt across the broader industry. As manufacturers and suppliers strive to increase compliant product offerings with associated EPDs to meet demand, clients in the private sector will find themselves with more abundant options on their own projects. 

As we have done for nearly three decades, we are working to assist clients in successfully navigating the complex and ever-changing landscape of sustainable construction. By helping clients understand both carbon intensity and costs of designs and products, we can ultimately deliver projects that are a win-win for our clients and the environment.