Embodied Carbon Reduction Challenge

The Challenge: Reduce the Upfront Carbon in Building Materials

"Embodied carbon," or "upfront carbon," refers to greenhouse gas emissions that occur during the production and use of building materials. According to the non-profit Architecture 2030, embodied carbon accounts for about half of a building's emissions. In contrast with "operational carbon" -- which is produced from heating, cooling, and other energy uses in a building and can be reduced over time -- the majority of embodied carbon has already been released as soon as a building is built.

About the Embodied Carbon Reduction Challenge

The Embodied Carbon Reduction Challenge was a yearlong competition in which architects submitted real building projects that reduced embodied carbon through replicable, innovative, and impactful design changes relative to a "business as usual" design. MassCEC engaged Built Environment Plus (BE+) to provide training to competitors and to coordinate judging for the Challenge, which was open to both new construction and major renovation projects in Massachusetts.  

The Challenge had two goals:

• Demonstrate low-cost, high-impact changes that significantly reduce embodied carbon
• Train design teams in estimating embodied carbon and in advising clients about options for reducing embodied carbon

Details about the training and competition are available on the BE+ website.