Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA) recently released its SE 2050 Embodied Carbon Action Plan (ECAP) for 2022.
The plan contains two-dozen pledged action items including:
· Track, measure, and report on material quantities and carbon footprint reductions for selected MKA projects, including two projects to be used as case studies for external publication, and four projects to be submitted to SE 2050 for inclusion in their database.
· Engage in advancing and developing non-proprietary, open-source embodied carbon and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) tracking tools. MKA will provide both in-kind and funding support toward the development of the OpenIMPACT Life Cycle Inventory database and the tallyCAT LCA tool.
· Continue work by MKA’s in-house Sustainability Technical Specialist Team, which shares innovations, discusses strategies, reviews case study successes, and serves as a resource on embodied carbon reduction. MKA will make at least six presentations to industry peers to highlight advancements, foster collaboration, and challenge each other on reducing embodied carbon.
· Create an embodied carbon guide to establish its approach toward measuring embodied carbon—from the materials procurement to construction to the Whole Building LCA.
Earlier this year, MKA, in collaboration with Hines, released the Hines Embodied Carbon Reduction Guide. Developed over two years, the free 108-page guide aims to create more sustainable development practices at Hines while establishing an industry standard for quantifying, tracking, and reducing embodied carbon in commercial real estate development.
Related Stories
| Jan 16, 2014
Construction spending for 2013 finishing 5% higher than 2012: Gilbane Construction Economics report
??Construction growth is looking up, according to the December 2013 release of the periodic report Construction Economics, authored by Gilbane Building Company. Construction spending for 2013 will finish the year up 5%.
| Jan 13, 2014
Custom exterior fabricator A. Zahner unveils free façade design software for architects
The web-based tool uses the company's factory floor like "a massive rapid prototype machine,” allowing designers to manipulate designs on the fly based on cost and other factors, according to CEO/President Bill Zahner.
| Jan 10, 2014
Resiliency, material health among top AEC focuses for 2014: Perkins+Will survey
Architectural giant Perkins+Will recently surveyed its staff of 1,500 design pros to forcast hot trends in the AEC field for 2014. The resulting Design + Insights Survey reflects a global perspective.
| Jan 9, 2014
How security in schools applies to other building types
Many of the principles and concepts described in our Special Report on K-12 security also apply to other building types and markets.
| Jan 9, 2014
16 recommendations on security technology to take to your K-12 clients
From facial recognition cameras to IP-based door hardware, here are key technology-related considerations you should discuss with your school district clients.
| Dec 29, 2013
7 ways to make your firm more efficient
In a CEO.com post, Andrew Miller, president of ACM Consulting, shares the seven organizational efficiency strategies he encounters most frequently as he works with corporate executives to boost their performance.
| Dec 19, 2013
NRDC report relates green infrastructure investments to commercial property value [Infographic]
The Natural Resources Defense Council has released The Green Edge: How Commercial Property Investment in Green Infrastructure Creates Value -- a first-ever illustrative and well-documented report that helps demonstrate the value of green infrastructure. It draws from available published material to capture the multitude of tangible, monetizable non-water quality and water quality benefits that green infrastructure investments (trees, rain gardens, and porous pavement, rainwater harvesting cisterns, bioswales, etc.) can unlock for the commercial real estate sector, including commercial property owners and their tenants.
| Dec 17, 2013
'Silver tsunami,' restaurant boom, mid-rise mania among predicted Midwestern construction trends
According to some of the Chicago-area’s top commercial real estate firms, informally polled by area real estate PR firm Taylor Johnson, much of 2013 was spent preparing for an even busier 2014. Given the relocation of many top companies to downtownChicago, demand for new apartments, office, retail and restaurant projects in 2014 should all be up as workers look to achieve a live, work and play lifestyle.
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
| Nov 26, 2013
First Look: World's tallest Ferris wheel and surrounding N.Y. development
The New York office of Perkins Eastman has announced that the New York Wheel, located on the north shore of Staten Island’s St. George neighborhood, was approved by City Council on October 30 and construction is scheduled to begin in 2014. The approval process has been over a year in the making since the project was first announced by the office of Mayor Bloomberg last September.
