Full Title: Transforming Existing Buildings from Climate Liabilities to Climate Assets
Author(s): Eva Rosenbloom, Chris Magwood, Heather Clark, Victor Olgyay
Publisher(s): Rocky Mountain Institute
Publication Date: February 10, 2023
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Investing in existing buildings makes climate sense; retrofitting an existing building emits 50 to 75 percent less carbon than constructing the same building new. However, we cannot ignore the embodied carbon impact of these retrofits. It is important to consider the upfront embodied carbon emissions that arise from the production, transportation, and installation of materials to prevent a spike in emissions that will negate years of the operating emissions reductions achieved through retrofits.
This report provides data to support using low-carbon and carbon-storing materials in deep energy retrofits to reduce net emissions and transform buildings into climate assets. The study focuses on retrofit strategies for cold and mixed-humid climates and analyzes how reducing embodied carbon upfront impacts long-term operating emissions reductions through two examples of affordable multifamily housing deep energy retrofit projects in the Northeast. The report also includes case studies of successful completed retrofit projects and a list of available building products that use carbon-storing materials such as straw, bamboo and hemp for design teams and manufacturers.