CLF’s Embodied Carbon Roundtable has the following objectives:
- Share news, strategic plans, resources, and tools related to embodied carbon.
- Report planning and future dates for conferences, webinars, and meetings.
- Inspire and facilitate ongoing communication and conversation among key leaders related to embodied carbon.
- Encourage convergence on shared embodied carbon terminology, data standards, benchmarks, and targets for embodied carbon reduction.
Presenters
- Andrew Himes — Welcome from CLF
- Michelle Lambert — CLF — report on ECHO (Embodied Carbon Harmonization and Optimization) Project
- Cristi Valdivieso and Beth Huggins- Regeneration Field Institute
- Morgan Maloney or Kara Kokernak — ULI
- Ankita Gangotra — WRI
- Peter Bacas — EPA
- Tracy Huynh — RMI
- Bruce King — Buildwell (EC education videos)
- Nathan Forrest and/or Tom Tietz — California Nevada Cement Association
- Alex Krouka — United States Energy Association (report on DOE’s Carbon Utilization Procurement Grants program)
- Alex Leffelaar — City of Nelson, BC, Canada
- Andrew Himes — MEP 2040
- Katie Poss — Building Transparency
- Maria Hart — StopWaste
- Jessica Bristow — ILFI
- Stephanie Dalo — Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) and CLF Vancouver Regional Hub
- Irene Domínguez Pérez - Bellona Europa
- Vincent Martinez — Architecture 2030.
- Luca De Giovanetti — WBCSD: Market Transformation Action Agenda and the Global Building and Climate Forum 7-8 March
- James Kitchen — MASS Design Group: Northeast Biomaterials Summit plus Rwanda research
- Cecilia Wandiga — Centre for Science and Technology Innovations
- Aaron Everett — Climate Smart Wood
- Webly Bowles — NBI
- Nathan Forest and Tom Tietz — California Nevada Cement Association
- Rachel Stern — Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association
Notes
Michelle Lambert — CLF
- ECHO (Embodied Carbon Harmonization and Optimization) Project
- Convening organizations and participating organizations with a goal of working towards collaborations and harmonization of embodied carbon reporting
Cristi Valdivieso and Beth Huggins - Regeneration Field Institute
- Role of bamboo in the built environment and in human and economic health and growth
- RFI mission: “Through stakeholder engagement and community cooperation, we want to change the local and international narrative about bamboo. We want to lead through example”
- Education, research partnerships, and technical trainings for students, local communities, etc…
- Always looking for connections and partnerships, please feel free to reach out!
Morgan Maloney and Kara Kokernak — ULI
- ULI Fall Meeting in LA - “Demystifying Embodied Carbon Workshop” with about 100 participants
- Working on new resource “Intervention Points in Embodied Carbon”
- Interest in providing feedback, reach out
- Planning an Embodied Carbon Convening around AIA Conference in DC for architects and engineers
Ankita Gangotra — WRI
- Working on strengthen types between US policy and international initiatives for cement and steel
- Forum for International Green Industry
Peter Bacas — EPA
- IRA implementation - EPD Grant and Technical assistance and carbon labeling program
- Over 100 apps for grant
- Two webinars coming up:
- 2/1 EPA Carbon Label Approach
- 2/8 EPA Efforts on PCRs and PCR Criteria for Carbon Labeling Program
Bruce King — Buildwell (EC education videos)
- Trying to understand how to best reach a broader audience and engage in different ways
- Short educational videos coming out as well as decks for educational uses
- https://www.buildwell.site
Alex Krouka — United States Energy Association
- DOE’s Carbon Utilization Procurement Grants program
- Procurement Grant Program
- Cured concrete blocks, synthetic aggregates, suboxides, and other materials
- Private sector – good business development opportunity
- State and local governments – good way to help reduce cost
Katie Poss — Building Transparency
- ECHO Project
- EC3 Updates
- CLF 2023 Material Baselines - phase 1 implantation into EC3 (some material baselines that have not been implemented yet)
- Option to toggle 2023 CLF Baselines
- Policy compliance filters and EPD search option that comply with new policies
- Working with NYC to create templates and resources for compliance with new policies
- Policy report GWP and uncertainty factor within EC3
- Material category updates
- Updated user guide
- Application to apply to serve on Agricultural & Annually Renewable Fibers PCR: 08:52:09 , Applications accepted until February 16th, 2024
- katie.poss@buildingtransparency.org
Miya Kitahara and Maria Hart — StopWaste
- Working with Arup on biobased materials
- Embodied carbon quantification calculator tool to support state and local government for construction within jurisdictions
Jessica Bristow — ILFI
- ECHO Project
- NY State on EC policy development
- DOE Zero Emission Definition Review
- Launching .1 updates to buildings programs - updates on socials for review and feedback
- LF24 conference in Atlanta May 7-9 - EC summit
Tracy Huynh — RMI
- RESNET Standard 1550
- Technical Advisory Task group formed, Standard Development Committee formed
- HomebuildersCAN: A Supportive Carbon Action Network
- Helping builders learn about embodied carbon and about embodied carbon strategies
- Formal launch early 2024
- Embodied Carbon in ESG Primer
- How embodied carbon fits into the ESG real estate sector
- Driving Action on Embodied Carbon Paper USGBC Collaboration
- Synthesis of embodied carbon today and encourage action from various stakeholders in the building industry
- DoT Workshops
- Procurement of low embodied carbon materials
- Colorado Mass Timber Coalition
- Stimulating wood product supply chains in CO utilizing low value small diameter trees from ecologically motivated harvests
- More updates to come
Natalie Douglas and Stephanie Dalo — Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) and CLF Vancouver Regional Hub
- Any interest in collaborating with Vancouver Regional Hub, reach out!
- Embodied Carbon Awards in April – looking for some guest judges and will be reaching out
- Organization Commitment to Change
- Public Sector Leadership
- Strenthern Practice
- Commitment to Circularity
- Big Buildings
- Small Buildings
- Stephanie.dalo@zeic.ca
- Near Zero Stream Two Initiative
- Accelerate low embodied carbon homes and where education is needed
Irene Domínguez Pérez - Bellona Europa
- Environmental NGO industrial decarbonization and EU policy
- Policy updates at European level
- Whole life carbon provision finalized
- Intro of GWP limits
- Manufacturers must submit EPDs or european equivalent
- Green procurement as a tool to leverage demand for low carbon products
- Report to summarize published in March
Vincent Martinez — Architecture 2030
- Focus themes: invest in nature based infrastructure, scaling of low carbon traditions, use of existing buildings, embodied carbon
Luca De Giovanetti — WBCSD
- Market Transformation Action Agenda
- How to accelerate action by overcoming barriers and how to support collective action to achieve low carbon goals
- Global Building and Climate Forum
- Bring together 40 countries for alignment across international industries
James Kitchen — MASS Design Group
- Northeast Biomaterials Summit
- 60 individuals representing full spectrum of bio-based construction value chain
- “How can regionally produced renewable building materials be brought to market, at scale, across the Northeast of North America?”
- Link to register for the Northeast Regional Biomaterials Summit Follow Up on January 24th
- Rwanda embodied carbon research
- Facilitate the embedment of embodied carbon assessments and reduction practices into building and infrastructure design and construction
Cecilia Wandiga — Centre for Science and Technology Innovations
- Made connection with MASS Design
- Connection with German organization Start Somewhere
Aaron Everett — Climate Smart Wood
- Most timely, our V2 procurement guidance was released at Greenbuild 2023 and we are continuing development of wood procurement resources — there is an open process ongoing around specification language approaches that you can find here
- Please reach out to me if you’d like to be a reviewer or otherwise learn more about our work. aeverett@climatesmartwood.net
Webly Bowles - New Buildings Institute
- We’ll be hosting the first annual Embodied Carbon Summit on May 21 in Charlotte, NC. The conference will be paired with the Getting to Zero Forum in the years to follow. More information will be posted here soon
- ASHRAE 189.1-2023 has been published and now requires EPD Reporting. We’re working on other proposals and new addendums will be released soon enough
- NBI has been supporting regional group webinars about the new EC requirements in CALGreen. There’s a Seattle CLF event today and another one on Feb 21st with Structural Engineers Association of California
- In a few months we’ll be releasing an addendum to the embodied carbon building code, to include a residential addendum
- As the national I-code process starts up again and states are opening their code process, we’ll be submitting and supporting more embodied carbon codes. I’ll have updates when these are open for public comment;
- webly@newbuildings.org
Nathan Forrest and/or Tom Tietz — California Nevada Cement Association
- Email: Nathan.forrest@cncement.org