A public beta version of a new tool that enables users to learn how building and infrastructure projects can “radically reduce embodied carbon” was released at Greenbuild this month.
The Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (“EC3”) delivers the first digitized EPDs for construction materials in a platform designed to accelerate early adoption, according to a news release from the Carbon Leadership Forum. The free, open-access tool is based on the industry’s first database of digitized Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
Unlike operational carbon emissions, which can be reduced over time with building energy-efficiency renovations and the use of renewable energy, embodied carbon emissions are locked in place as soon as a building is built. Embodied carbon will be responsible for almost half of total new construction emissions between now and 2050, according to Architecture 2030.
EC3 is the first free tool that allows for supply chain-specific analysis of embodied carbon data, using the first searchable and sortable database of all United States and Canadian Environmental Product Declarations for concrete, steel, wood, glass, aluminum, insulation, gypsum, carpet, and ceiling tiles. It is the first tool to create a digital EPD form and to translate all EPDs into that form for viewing and analyzing data. Previously, users had to work with PDF-based EPDs.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Sep 21, 2020
No ease of lumber price spikes in sight
Wildfires strike Northwest timber industry in wake of Covid-19 shutdowns.
Codes and Standards | Sep 17, 2020
Spate of energy code appeals could hamper efficiency progress
Construction and fossil fuel interests oppose portions of latest model energy code.
Codes and Standards | Sep 16, 2020
Heat pumps are the future for hot water
Sustainability policies will drive trend.
Codes and Standards | Sep 15, 2020
Taller timber buildings approved in National Fire Protection Association code
Ensures compatibility with the International Building Code.
Codes and Standards | Sep 14, 2020
Relocation of neighborhoods, the next step in U.S. flood strategy, is underway
Repeated rebuilding after successive floods now seen as bad policy.
Codes and Standards | Sep 10, 2020
Fannie Mae programs provide incentives for multifamily solar
Affordable housing projects can find PV installations to be cost-effective.
Codes and Standards | Sep 9, 2020
Corporate pledges accelerate net-zero building movement
World Green Building Council drives goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Codes and Standards | Sep 8, 2020
Study will examine elevator airflow amid COVID-19 pandemic
Researchers to investigate risk of airborne transmission.
Codes and Standards | Sep 4, 2020
Updated selection, application guide for plastic glazed skylights, sloped glazing released
Part of suite of skylight documents by Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance.
Codes and Standards | Sep 3, 2020
Turner Construction takes strong stand against racism
Shuts down work sites for anti-bias training.