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.
>> Register for the Upcoming October 12 Meeting!
Presenters
• Andrew Himes — Intro and Welcome from CLF
• Ankita Gangotra — WRI
• Graham Wright — PHIUS (Passive House Institute of the US)
• Kara Kokernak — ULI
• James Kitchin — MASS Design Group
• Shayna Stott — City of Toronto, Canada
• Meghan Lewis — Carbon Leadership Forum & Embodied Carbon Alignment
• Tracy Huynh — RMI
• Dorian Bailey — Port Authority of NY/NJ
• Ken Levenson — Passive House Network
• Marnese Jackson — Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition
• Luke Leung — MEP 2040
• Webly Bowles — NBI
• Lisa Dulude — University of Washington
• Rachel Stern — Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association
• Natalie Douglas — City of Nelson, BC, Canada
• Jessica Bristow — ILFI
• Lauren Kubiak — NRDC
• Eric Finley — NSF
• Lauren Alger — Infrastructure 2050
• David Arkin — AIA
• Wes Sullens — USGBC
• Allison Kinn Bennet — EPA
Ankita Gangotra — WRI
- Drafting article comparing different approaches about the intersection of trade policies and industrial decarb – coming soon
- Low carbon product standard
- New legislative proposals on carbon adjustments
- US/International knowledge forum on green concrete and steel
- Green procurement and low carbon standards
- Question: CAL AB 43 engagement?
- Email: ankita.gangotra@wri.org
- If you’re interested in the US-International Knowledge Exchange forum on green steel, cement and concrete WRI’s working paper from a couple of years ago on a low-carbon product standard
Graham Wright — PHIUS (Passive House Institute of the US)
- Website
- Proposed absolute zero for carbon anywhere in operation or supply chain
- 24/7 Zero
- Building sector shouldn’t get to use carbon offsets
- Retrofit program – full cost accounting carbon metric for both operational and embodied carbon
- Adds to construction, operational, electrification costs
- Design as if there’s a carbon tax
- Benchmarking before targets
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory – air tightness and moisture properties of low EC materials
- Refrigerants – not adopted anything yet
Kara Kokernak — ULI
- Collecting EC data for the annual performance report
- 1 submission so far – deadline 8/1
- EC case studies
- Second EC Convening in September
- Construction, developers, green concrete and green steel supplier executives
James Kitchin — MASS Design Group
- US – designing different envelopes and identifying EC and OC emissions that are associated, introduce whole life cost into that as well
- Cost – cost effective is easy to implement
- How does this change in different locations?
- Ask PCR – biogenic materials discussion
- Rwanda
- Toolkit for Built Env Practitioners to mEasure and reduce EC in Rwanda
- Implementing cooling systems and refrigerants into the tool
- 3 Rwanda manufacturers agree to create EPDs for their materials in Rwanda
- EPDs not as expensive as they used to be 3k euros
- Government on board – EPDs align with existing initiatives
Shayna Stott — City of Toronto, Canada
- Green Standard V4
- Tiered requirements to private sector projects
- Two benchmark studies
- Regulating EC Emissions of Buildings – 1 Big Buildings 1 small buildings
- Toronto to have EC caps of city facilities and projects
- Creating affordable city housing and releasing additional land for housing
- Regulating EC Emissions of Buildings – 1 Big Buildings 1 small buildings
- Next Steps: Phase 2 Study - Municipal EC Toolkit
- Urban design guidelines review
- Procurement policy review
- Demolition, renovation, and reconstruction policy review
Meghan Lewis — Carbon Leadership Forum & Embodied Carbon Alignment
- Alignment opportunities in EC Reporting
- Communications, requirements for data, broad
- Submitting data – what that would look like and how to align reporting
- Report due in August: Advancing the LCA Data Ecosystem for Policy; public webinar to follow in ~ September
- De-mystify LCA data ecosystem
- Propose a roadmap for advancing the LCA data ecosystem
- Shine a light on existing initiatives
- Focus on US and Canada, but reference EU standards, too and attention to global harmonization
- 4 focus areas: Cross sector, product, building, roadways
David Arkin – AIA
- AIA (American Institute of Architects) is part of the EC/Decarb Alignment effort … we’ve been tracking carbon in buildings since 2013 (now reporting 3B sf / year) and added embodied carbon reporting in 2020, growing from 900 projects in 2021 to 3700 in 2022. The AIA 2030 Commitment - AIA
Tracy Huynh — RMI
- EC in ECG Primer
- Brief how EC fits into the blogger ESG reporting landscape, specifically real estate
- ANSI/RESNET
- Pursue standard to measure create to gate EC emissions in new low rise residential homes
- Looking for technical committee members
- Home Builders climate commitment program
- Voluntary commitment program to support the home building sector ro report on and reduce carbon emissions
- Reporting framework and guidance
- Soft launch at EEBA conf in Oct.
- Driving Action on Embodied Carbon Paper
- Synthesis on current understanding of EC today
- Unblock barriers to act on EC
- Work w Wes at USGBC
- Slides
Dorian Bailey — Port Authority of NY/NJ
- EC Strategy for the past 3-4 years
- Construction side – track EC and other EPD like metrics
- Centralized carbon data management system
- Receive technical support grant from FHA for climate challenge work
- Working on linear construction work
- Press release
- Codifying low carbon concrete specs
Ken Levenson — Passive House Network
- Knowledge sharing, capacity building, ect…
- Chris Magwood on talking about report on residential construction and EC impact
- PHN Conf. Denver – end of sept.
- Chris to join panel discussion on PH and EC
- PHribbon – EC calc tool
- EC3 database with BT
- Is being updated with lots more data and power behind it
Marnese Jackson — Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition
- Coalition building and structuring coalition
- Equity summit in Nov
- Grant funding cycle to redistribute communities – Climate Funders Justice Pledge and C40 Pledge
- Any communities – apply for that
- August Trainings
- Youth podcast series
- Email: Jackson@fresh-energy.org
- July 25: New Member Orientation – New member orientation is every fourth Tuesday of the month at 12 PM CST / 1 PM EST. Click here to register.
- July 12: MWBDC Monthly Meeting – The monthly meeting usually takes place the second Wednesday of each month for 90 minutes at 2 PM CST / 3 PM EST. Register here
Luke Leung — MEP 2040
- AHRAE and MEP 2040 – endorse and contribute resources
- TM65 Draft out for comment
- Working with multiple organizations to come up with holistic to report EC on MEP side
- Data points in MEP reporting they should include – reach out if comments
- WGBC – new target for 2050 is not “net zero whole life carbon”, but rather zero carbon impact on the earth in a complete circular global economy
Webly Bowles — NBI
- Publish EC building Code overlay soon
- ASHRAE 90.1 will have an EPD requirement
- Product GWP standards for procurement
- City of Seattle – concrete and steel in proposals for local code revision
- CALGreen – EC proposals, public hearing 8/1 - 8/3
- Looking for more people to speak
- Webinars in this fall
- Coordinate with other events
Lisa Dulude — University of Washington
- Updating UW green building standard
- ~ 50% the way through
- Introducing EC into requirements
- Tiers for different types of projects
- EC focus group meetings
- 46.45kg CO2e/SF EC reduction target
- Lots of engagement and education
- Any recommendations or oversights – reach out if have input
- Not doing carbon offsets, looking to renovate instead of add buildings,
- Email: lisad3@uw.edu
Rachel Stern — Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association
- PCR update for thermal insulation
- Addition of bio based to applicable products list
- Inclusions of blowing agent emissions for foam products
- Brook Waldman (CLF) also included in this PCR
- Wall assembly, attic, or similar – get in touch for free product of cellulose insulation
Natalie Douglas — City of Nelson, BC, Canada
-
Here’s a summary of some of the work Nelson has done regarding embodied carbon:
-
2021 – investigating
- Benchmarking study
- Materials guide
- Webinars and workshops
-
2022 – testing
- Webinars and workshops
- Briefs and case studies
- Free EC consultations
- EC advisory group
-
2023 – implementing
- EC Regulation plan
- EC advisory group
- Free consultations
- Retrofits investigation ‘
-
Email: ndouglas@nelson.ca
Jessica Bristow — ILFI
- EC Coalition group (with CLF)
- ILFI, BT, CLF at Greenbuild
- May - Living Futures Conference in DC
- Affordable Housing Summit
- Second cycle of technical advisory group – opens soon
- Alignment update across CZ programs – updates at the beginning of next year
Lauren Kubiak — NRDC
- Public procurement of concrete in CAL
- AB 1250 - passed assembly last month, passed trans senate yesterday
- Require cal trans to include EPDs in state trans asphalt and concrete
- GWP benchmark hopes
- Ask for support
- Concrete not include in BC CA
- Previous efforts have failed
Eric Finley — NSF
- Public health and safety organization
- Program operator for PCRs, LCAs, and EPDs
Lauren Alger — Infrastructure 2050
- ASCE Infrastructure 2050
- Everything beyond SE 2050
- Evaluating tunnel projects – draft framework for data collection
- Focus groups for bridges, airports (runways), roadways, ports, utilities
- Develop policies with govt agencies – safe and effective carbon reduction strategies
Alison Kinn Bennett — EPA
- Thanks to everyone who gave feedback and insight to RFI
- Hiring – growing lots to bring in expertise for EC and IRA work
- If you are interested in joining our growing team at EPA launching the new IRA low embodied carbon / EPD technical assistance and labeling programs, we’ll have some open opportunities soon! Please email me in the next couple days at kinn.alison@epa.gov.