Actions for reducing embodied emissions at your fingertips
WHAT ARE EMBODIED EMISSIONS?
Embodied emissions represent the emissions associated with building and infrastructure products and construction, from raw material extraction to manufacturing, transportation, and end of life disposal or recycling. Embodied emissions represent a significant amount of annual global emissions, and yet there is incredible opportunity for embodied emissions reductions through planning, design, material selection, and specification.
WHY EMBODIED EMISSIONS?
Annually, embodied from the built environment (buildings, landscapes, and infrastructure) are responsible for 15% of global GHG emissions and 35% of global built environment emissions. It is anticipated that embodied emissions will be responsible for the majority of the emissions associated with global new building and infrastructure between now and 2030. It is therefore crucial to address embodied emissions now to disrupt our current emissions trend, and because embodied emissions are locked in upon construction and cannot be taken back or reduced.
AN ATTRIBUTE-BASED APPROACH
The Carbon Smart Materials Palette contains an attribute-based approach to embodied emissions reductions in the built environment. It identifies key attributes that contribute to a material’s embodied emissions impact, and offers guidelines and options for emissions reductions. The Carbon Smart Materials Palette is designed to support and complement Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), while providing highly impactful guidelines for low/no emissions material design, selection, and specification.