Full Title: Impact Accounting Methodology for Building Construction: Guiding Strategic Investments to Reduce Embodied Carbon in Construction
Author(s): Chris Magwood, Victor Olgyay, and Katie Ross
Publisher(s): Rocky Mountain Institute
Publication Date: February 28, 2025
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Corporate greenhouse gas emissions fall into three categories: Scope 1 (direct emissions from facilities and vehicles), Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased energy), and Scope 3 (upstream and downstream activities like purchased goods and product disposal). As one of the early adopters of Scope 3 reporting, Microsoft determined that their Scope 3 emissions surpass their Scope 1 and 2 emissions combined, in part due to the embodied carbon from building materials and construction. RMI and Microsoft’s report Impact Accounting Methodology for Building Construction aims to refine Scope 3 emissions to provide architects, engineers, and procurement teams with an actionable method and reporting system to guide cost-effective investments and drive significant emissions reductions.
The GHG Protocol-aligned report expands upon conventional spend-based metrics that penalize investments in reducing embodied carbon by introducing a dual-path framework that combines process-based data with spend-based calculations and reporting. It leverages verified, product-specific Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for high-emitting materials such as steel and concrete, and supplements them with spend-based adjustments when detailed emissions data aren’t available. This report serves as both a roadmap for immediate application and a call to action for industry collaboration, accelerating the shift to better project designs and material procurement for buildings that are good for both business and the climate.