12/13/2023 0 Comments Ways to reduce carbon footprintWith reclaimed wood in particular, you not only save the energy that would have been spent in cutting the tree down, transporting it to the mill, and processing it, but the tree you never cut down is still doing the work of sequestering carbon. Salvaged materials typically have a much lower embodied carbon footprint than newly manufactured materials, since the carbon to manufacture them has already been spent. Whenever possible, look to salvage materials like brick, metals, broken concrete, or wood. Wood may first come to mind, but you can also consider options like straw or hemp insulation, which-unlike wood-are annually renewable. Using agricultural products that sequester carbon can make a big impact on the embodied carbon in a project. In most cases, it’s probably not possible to avoid carbon intensive products altogether-metals, plastics, aluminum-but you can review Environmental Product Declarations and look for lower carbon alternatives.Ĭhoose carbon sequestering materials. If you can utilize a wood structure instead of steel and concrete, or wood siding instead of vinyl, you can reduce the embodied carbon in a project. As architects, we have the ability and responsibility to provide solutions that minimize the climate impact of the structures we design.Ĭhoose lower carbon alternatives. For instance, while aluminum may complement the aesthetics of your project, it is still important to use it judiciously because of its significant carbon footprint. For products with high carbon footprints like aluminum, plastics, and foam insulation, thoughtful use is essential. Though access to these materials varies across the country, with an increasing number of options there is almost always something that can reduce the carbon footprint of your concrete mix. The solution? Work with your structural engineers to design lower carbon concrete mixes by using fly ash, slag, calcined clays, or even lower-strength concrete where feasible. Even though emissions per ton are not relatively high, its weight and prevalence usually make concrete the biggest source of embodied carbon in virtually any project. But channeling that energy and creativity toward making poor-performing buildings into something beautiful, sustainable and energy efficient has its own rewards, and yields substantial positive benefits. With many projects, the first question should be, "Is there an existing building we can use instead?" This is an admittedly hard sell for architects-after all, many of us got into the business for the excitement and challenge of designing something new from the ground up. This is especially true if the foundations and structure are preserved, since most embodied carbon resides there. Renovation and reuse projects typically save between 50 and 75 percent of the embodied carbon emissions compared to constructing a new building. Reuse buildings instead of constructing new ones. The good news is there are several steps architects can take to make significant upfront impacts in the design and construction process. It’s a very efficient project and has performed better than expected, but when we ran all the numbers we found that construction still emitted 1,000 tons of carbon-roughly the same as 10 years of operating emissions. My own “a-ha” moment on this front was when my firm calculated all the embodied carbon emitted from building the Portola Valley Town Center. And while practices to reduce operating impacts are widespread, less well understood are the carbon impacts during the building stage of a project. As architects, we have the ability and responsibility to provide solutions that minimize the climate impact of the structures we design. When you add embodied carbon-the energy and emissions from materials and construction-that number is almost 50 percent. According to the Energy Information Administration, about 40 percent of the energy consumed in the United States in 2015 went directly or indirectly to operating buildings. The need for sustainability in the design, construction, and operation of buildings is a reality. By taking these steps upfront, architects can make a big impact during the building stage of a project
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