Kalsman, M., Lewis, M., Simonen, K. (2023). Pacific Coast Collaborative: Embodied Carbon Policy Case Studies. Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington. Seattle, WA. https://hdl.handle.net/1773/49771.
View Publication
Abstract
The PCC Low Carbon Construction Task Force, launched at COP26 in November 2021, is a regional initiative between California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, and Vancouver to advance low-carbon materials and methods in building and construction projects. The Task Force aims to create a shared regional strategy with the goal of accelerating innovation, investment, and market development for low carbon materials by leveraging the scale of the Pacific Coast regional economy. The CLF began supporting the taskforce as a technical resource in 2022.
These case studies showcase the region’s policy leadership on low-carbon construction and provide insights to inform other jurisdictions pursuing legislation and other policies within the Pacific Coast region and beyond.
Waldman, B., Hyatt, A., Carlisle, S., Palmeri, J., and Simonen, K. (2023). 2023 Carbon Leadership Forum North American Material Baselines (version 2). Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington. Seattle, WA. August 2023. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/49965
View Publication
Abstract
The CLF Baseline values represent an estimate of industry-average GHG emissions for construction materials manufactured in North America. An overwhelming majority of the CLF Baselines published in this report are based on a North American industry-wide EPD if one was available at the time of publication. As such, it is appropriate to use this number as a rough estimate of a product type’s embodied carbon before a specific product has been selected or as a reference value against which product-level comparisons can be made.
Each material category has a detailed appendix that includes a description of the embodied carbon impacts, the available EPDs, and summary statistics. The Appendices in this report allow users to better understand the availability of existing industry-wide and product EPDs, and the variability of product types across a category. The snapshot of available EPDs summarized in each Appendix was assembled using the EC3 database in Fall 2022.
Lewis, M., Waldman, B., Carlisle, S., Benke, B., and Simonen, K. (2023). Advancing the LCA Ecosystem: A Policy-Focused Roadmap for Reducing Embodied Carbon. Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington. Seattle, WA.
View Publication
Abstract
Policy action on embodied carbon is growing quickly. 2021-2023 has seen an unprecedented number of introduced and passed policies targeting embodied carbon reductions in the building and infrastructure sectors in the US, Canada, and internationally. Policies aimed at reducing the embodied carbon of building and infrastructure projects and construction materials typically leverage life cycle assessment (LCA) as a methodology to measure the impacts of a product or project and compare them against a percentage reduction target or embodied carbon performance standard (i.e., global warming potential (GWP) limit).
The effectiveness of policies in reducing embodied carbon relies on the health of the underlying LCA ecosystem – the standards, guidelines, data sources, tools, and actors/organizations that constitute the interdependent building blocks of LCA – to create consistent, reliable estimates of embodied carbon to report and benchmark products and projects.
Ashtiani, M, Lewis, M., Waldman, B., Simonen, K. (2024) Embodied Carbon Toolkit for Roadway Infrastructure. Carbon Leadership Forum.
View Publication
Abstract
The CLF Embodied Carbon Toolkit for Roadway Infrastructure is one of several CLF’s Toolkit series that serve as abstract references for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers that are collectively targeted at understanding, estimating, and reducing embodied carbon within the context of buildings and infrastructure. This Toolkit, with a focus on the embodied carbon from building the roadway infrastructure, presents an overview of embodied carbon concepts and accounting mechanisms and provides a summary of critical steps to be taken for reducing climate change impacts of roadways. The Toolkit, in three parts, is intended to guide transportation agencies and other related stakeholders into a decarbonized future by:
-Introducing embodied carbon and its major sources within the context of roadway infrastructure construction.
-Highlighting the significant role of the transportation infrastructure in contributing to climate change impacts.
-Providing a summary of standard methodologies in accounting for embodied carbon through life cycle assessment (LCA).
-Summarizing available tools to conduct LCA for roadway infrastructure as a whole and its constituent components.
-Proposing the most impactful current and future strategies in reducing embodied carbon from the roadway infrastructure.
Kalsman, M., Lambert, M., Lewis, M., & Simonen, K. (2024). Northeast U.S. & Canada Embodied Carbon Policy Case Studies. Carbon Leadership Forum. https://doi.org/10.6069/Q8K9-ED23.
View Publication
Abstract
Policy is an essential step towards creating the scale of action required to rapidly reduce embodied carbon in construction. We have historically seen embodied carbon reporting primarily be of a voluntary nature. However, in the coming years we expect these policies to cover more projects, more materials and to become mandatory.
These nine policy case studies highlight only a small portion of embodied carbon policy action in the Northeast region of the U.S. and Canada. Looking forward, we expect to see the rapid proposal and adoption of policies across North America.
Ashtiani, M., Palmeri, J., and Simonen, K. (2024). End of Life Modeling and Data in North American Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment Tools. Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington. Seattle, WA.
View Publication
Abstract
This document summarizes the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) research on end-of-life (EOL) modeling for a selection of building materials in whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA) tools conducted as part of a larger project in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), Building Transparency (BT), and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). The overarching goals of the project are to:
Improve EOL modeling in WBLCA tools by exploring data gaps and current tool capabilities.
Explore opportunities for developing and testing an open-access EOL database. This can potentially enable WBLCA tools to draw from this database and better harmonize the modeling of EOL impacts.
The recommendations, limitations, and future research ideas are based on: 1) a review of EOL data and modeling functions for three North American WBLCA tools, 2) direct interviews with North American WBLCA tool providers, and 3) a survey and an online workshop with experienced WBLCA tool users.
Ashtiani, M. Z., Huang, M., Lewis, M. C., Palmeri, J., & Simonen, K. (2024). Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory from Roadway Construction: Case Study for the Washington State Department of Transportation. Transportation Research Record, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981241233278
View Publication
Abstract
Recent emphasis on actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has pushed many state departments of transportation (DOTs) to develop carbon accounting practices compatible with their current standard data collection and storage guidelines. Once accurate and reliable accounting of GHG emissions is established, strategies can be formed that could help mitigate the adverse environmental impacts of materials used by state DOTs. To date, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has not conducted comprehensive research on the embodied carbon within its construction material usage (i.e., upstream Scope 3 emissions inventory of procured materials) with most previous carbon accounting practices being focused on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (i.e., the carbon footprint of direct and indirect energy usage). This paper summarizes the results of a life cycle assessment on the agency-wide material procurements and construction operations that emit GHGs at WSDOT as a case study. This study uses several data sources from WSDOT in conjunction with publicly available life cycle emissions factor data to estimate GHG emissions attributed to the materials used to build and maintain roadways under WSDOT’s jurisdiction. Results indicate that upstream Scope 3 emissions for WSDOT as an agency is a significant contributor to its overall GHG emissions inventory. Specifically, between 2017 and 2022, this paper estimates an average annual upstream Scope 3 emissions of 310,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalents, which translates to 56% of the total annual GHG emissions including Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
The Life Cycle Lab at UW’s College of Built Environments leads research to advance life cycle assessment (LCA) data, methods and approaches to enable optimization of materials, buildings and infrastructure. Our work is structured to inform impactful policies and practices that support global decarbonization efforts. We envision a transformed, decarbonized building industry – better buildings for a better planet.
Our group is led by Professor Kate Simonen. Since arriving at UW in 2009, she has conducted research and spearheaded initiatives focused on accelerating the transformation of the building sector to radically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions attributed to materials (also known as embodied carbon) used in buildings and infrastructure. From June 2010 until April 2024 she directed the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) as it was hosted in UW’s College of Built Environments. The core of CLF’s work has been to lay essential foundations for understanding embodied carbon: a framework for comprehensive strategy, rigorous analysis, and transparent reporting that can support design tools, effective policy, and collective action.
In April 2024, two new entities were created to expand the program’s influence and impact: the Carbon Leadership Forum launched as an independent nonprofit organization and the newly named Life Cycle Lab was created to support the next generation of researchers and pursue critical embodied carbon research with an increased focus on academic publications. Learn more about this transition via this announcement.
Life Cycle Lab members include professional research staff, research assistants, students advised by Prof. Simonen, undergraduate interns and student assistants. Many of our members are formally affiliated with the Carbon Leadership Forum and the two organizations continue to actively collaborate developing strategies and executing aligned initiatives.
Projects associated with Life Cycle Lab include:
Population Health Initiative awarded a Climate Change Pilot Grant to two teams that includes CBE researchers. Projects will begin January 2024, and were awarded $50,000. Read the full story here. Project title: “Sustainable metamaterials for insulation applications.” Project team: Eleftheria Roumeli, Materials Science & Engineering Tomás Méndez Echenagucia, Architecture Project abstract: Amidst an urgent global shift towards a circular economy, the demand for sustainable materials has reached a critical juncture. This transformation requires materials sourced from renewable sources, processed via…
The CBE Climate Solutions Community of Practice was featured in a story on the CBE website. See the excerpt below. “Through the materials we use and the ecosystems we alter, arguably more than 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions are related to the built environment,” says Kate Simonen, a professor of architecture at UW’s College of Built Environments and founding director of the Carbon Leadership Forum. Simonen’s primary research focus is reducing the environmental impact of building materials, and she’s been…