# LBC Zero Carbon Limit Inquiry **URL:** \ **Category:** Uncategorized\ **Created:** [June 16, 2022, 9:54pm UTC](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/t/lbc-zero-carbon-limit-inquiry/5518 "2022-06-16T21:54:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YureSuarez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/c89c15/32.png) [@YureSuarez](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/u/YureSuarez)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 9:54pm UTC](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/t/lbc-zero-carbon-limit-inquiry/5518/1 "2022-06-16T21:54:13Z")
Hello - I was reading the LBC Zero Carbon certification and I noticed it says: “The total embodied carbon of the project building may not exceed 500kg CO2e/m2” Does anyone know where the 500 is coming from? not judging, IO am just trying to understand the research behind that. Thanks, ---
**Author:** ![david](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.carbonleadershipforum.org/david/32/156_2.png) [@david](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/u/david)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/t/lbc-zero-carbon-limit-inquiry/5518/2 "2022-06-17T14:14:45Z")
I don’t know the research behind that, but 500 CO2e/m2 is a ridiculously high (lenient / easy) number to target, given the average typical building is somewhere around 400, and closer to 300 for low-rise and residential structures. 75 is the target a city in Canada set, at or below which one’s building permit fees were waived. Would love to hear from someone on the inside at LBC who helped to set that target, and what their rationale was. ---
**Author:** ![YureSuarez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/c89c15/32.png) [@YureSuarez](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/u/YureSuarez)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/t/lbc-zero-carbon-limit-inquiry/5518/3 "2022-06-17T14:34:27Z")
Hello David - Can you share with me where I can read the Canadian benchmark you are referring to? Thanks, ---
**Author:** ![david](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.carbonleadershipforum.org/david/32/156_2.png) [@david](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/u/david)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/t/lbc-zero-carbon-limit-inquiry/5518/4 "2022-06-17T14:53:24Z")
> **[How a small Ontario township is taking climate action — one building at a time](https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/07/15/news/small-ontario-township-climate-action-low-carbon-building)** > > Some would say it’s an unlikely place to showcase an innovative green building program. However, the camp’s new nursing station was built using low-carbon construction methods utilized by Douro-Dummer in its efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions. ---
**Author:** ![david](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.carbonleadershipforum.org/david/32/156_2.png) [@david](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/u/david)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 2:54pm UTC](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/t/lbc-zero-carbon-limit-inquiry/5518/5 "2022-06-17T14:54:48Z")
and more: [https://www.buildersforclimateaction.org/uploads/1/5/9/3/15931000/bfca-enercan-report-web\_08\_21.pdf](https://www.buildersforclimateaction.org/uploads/1/5/9/3/15931000/bfca-enercan-report-web_08_21.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![bkarki1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f04885/32.png) [@bkarki1](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/u/bkarki1)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 1:49pm UTC](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/t/lbc-zero-carbon-limit-inquiry/5518/6 "2022-06-20T13:49:21Z")
Hello YureSuarez, The 500kg C02 e/m2 threshold is based on the 2017 [Embodied Carbon Benchmark Study](https://carbonleadershipforum.org/lca-benchmark-database/) conducted by the Carbon Leadership Forum. ---
**Author:** ![lauren.wingo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.carbonleadershipforum.org/lauren.wingo/32/805_2.png) [@lauren.wingo](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/u/lauren.wingo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2022, 3:12pm UTC](https://community.carbonleadershipforum.org/t/lbc-zero-carbon-limit-inquiry/5518/7 "2022-06-24T15:12:57Z")
I find that because embodied carbon intensity varies significantly based on building height and use that yes, the target can be easy to achieve for some types of buildings, but challenging for others! I also like the LETI embodied carbon target alignment as a reference point: [https://www.leti.london/\_files/ugd/252d09\_a45059c2d71043cdbcffc539f942e602.pdf](https://www.leti.london/_files/ugd/252d09_a45059c2d71043cdbcffc539f942e602.pdf) It has specific A1-A5 targets (matches ILFI’s Zero Carbon scope), whereas the CLF data includes a variety of scopes.