Somerville-based Sublime Systems is developing a concrete product that eliminates one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the building industry. In this photo, construction workers at WS Development’s One Boston Wharf Road project pour cement made by Sublime earlier this year. Photo by David Denger/In Short Media | Courtesy of Sublime Systems
As climate change continues to reshape global priorities, the demand for healthy and sustainable buildings is evolving rapidly. Companies are increasingly committing to carbon reduction strategies that align with their environmental, social, and governance goals, recognizing the need to create spaces that not only reduce environmental impact, but also promote occupant well-being.
Building materials are a crucial component of the sustainability puzzle, including both the environmental impact and human health effects, from contributing to climate change to impacting indoor air quality. Recent research highlights the significant carbon footprint associated with building materials, underscoring the need to address embodied carbon – the emissions associated with the extraction, manufacturing, transportation and construction of building materials and products.
The built environment contributes approximately 40 percent of global carbon emissions – significantly more than cars and air travel combined.
Traditionally, the focus has been on reducing operational carbon – the emissions from building energy use – but this approach only addresses part of the problem. For new construction, most of the carbon emissions in the next 10 years will come from embodied carbon, not from the carbon emitted from operating the building.
Unlike operational carbon, which is emitted throughout the building’s lifetime as it is used and maintained, embodied carbon is released before the building is even occupied. This makes it an upfront and often overlooked contributor to climate change.
Efforts in Massachusetts and Beyond
Operational carbon has long been the focus of regulatory frameworks and sustainability efforts. But there is a growing recognition of the need to address embodied carbon as part of a broader strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, as reflected in legislative and market changes.
Six sections of the federal Inflation Reduction Act specifically address embodied carbon reduction measures. In Massachusetts, three new bills are under consideration that would bring embodied carbon reduction up to a similar level of stringency as operational carbon codes.
This past June, the Boston Planning and Development Agency’s board of directors also approved an amendment to the city’s zoning code to that would require new construction to measure and report on embodied carbon. The proposal is currently being updated after failing to receive approval by the Boston Zoning Commission.
Other states like California have already enacted code updates to require embodied carbon measurement and reporting for new construction. Legislative requirements and the rise of a free carbon market address both operational and embodied carbon and point towards the increasing relevance of carbon reduction in the built environment.
Raising the Bar
To help focus the lens on embodied carbon, earlier this year our firm launched the Gensler Product Sustainability Standards (GPS), a set of guidelines created to drive industry-wide alignment on a holistic approach to material selection and specification.
The standards set sustainability performance criteria for the most commonly used, high-impact products in architecture and interior projects – including acoustic ceiling panels, carpet tiles, gypsum board, and systems furniture workstations. Our goal for a clear and consistent standard, built on industry norms, is to encourage more research and transparency around building products and catalyze a collective effort to make rapid and significant progress in reducing embodied carbon emissions.
Erik Barth
Future versions of the GPS Standards will expand to include more product types, set more ambitious sustainability targets, and develop strategies for materials not directly controlled by architects, such as concrete and structural steel. For products that do not specifically fall under the GPS, we are urging the industry to proactively work with manufacturers to facilitate material decarbonization.
As an example, we recently collaborated with Somerville-based Sublime Systems, who are tackling the issue head-on. Cement production is currently one of the largest contributors to embodied carbon, accounting for around 8 percent of global carbon emissions. Sublime is developing a pioneering method of avoiding carbon dioxide from cement-making and recently partnered with WS Development on the first application of low-carbon cement at One Boston Wharf in the Seaport.
While we cannot ignore operational carbon, as the energy grid decarbonizes and building systems efficiency improves, operational carbon emissions from buildings will significantly decrease in proportion to embodied carbon. Cross-industry mobilization by way of collaboration between manufacturers, design professionals, building owners and public agencies will be essential to decreasing embodied carbon emissions.
To this end, we are working with industry partners to help building owners on both asset and portfolio-scale strategic decarbonization efforts. Reimagining how we engage with building materials is an urgent opportunity to take climate action while enhancing the quality of the built environment for human health and well-being.
Erik Barth is an architect and regional design resilience and sustainability leader in Gensler’s Boston office.
