Full Title: Reducing Embodied Carbon in Buildings
Author(s): Rebecca Esau, Matt Jungclaus, Victor Olgyay, Audrey Rempher
Publisher(s): Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)
Publication Date: July 31, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Buildings account for at least 39 percent of energy-related global carbon emissions on an annual basis. At least one-quarter of these emissions result from embodied carbon, or the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal of building materials.
This report highlights low-cost and no-cost solutions for reducing embodied carbon in buildings during a project’s design and construction phases. In case studies of three common building types, applying these solutions demonstrates an embodied carbon savings potential of 24 to 46 percent at cost premiums of less than 1 percent.