Embodied Carbon and Life Cycle Assessment

In 2022 CBE launched a new research program focused on embodied carbon. This work builds on the center’s record of successfully launching and growing new research areas, often to fill information gaps identified by CBE Industry Partners, occasionally starting with constrained initial funding yet leading to external grants that support multi-year, multi-project efforts.

This program was started with support from the ClimateWorks Foundation, working in collaboration with the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF). It is envisioned as an ongoing multi-project effort, with a goal of investigating multiple facets of embodied carbon in buildings, for example material selection for building systems and innovative construction methods for multi-family residential development. The program serves to advance the use of LCA within industry by improving the base level of knowledge within industry, assessing aspects of the built environment that have been largely overlooked to date, and addressing complex issues that are fundamental to LCA methodology and net-zero carbon claims and reporting practices. Below we describe noteworthy projects, both completed and ongoing:

The California Carbon Report: Analysis of Embodied and Operational Carbon Impacts of 30 Buildings

This report documents the use of whole life carbon assessment (WLCA) for 30 new construction projects in California. The authors address the balance between embodied carbon (EC) and operational carbon (OC) over the life cycle of a building, and identify the most significant contributors to EC impacts. The report also describes trends within the building industry that can be used to propose tangible means of reducing the environmental impacts of the North American building stock, and was published in coordination with a separate policy document. CBE’s Matt Roberts was one of the lead authors for this milestone work, done in collaboration with the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF).

Validating and Extending Research and Education for Life Cycle Assessment (VERE-LCA)

CBE is part of a team led by the University of Washington’s Life Cycle Lab selected in 2024 for a $10M, 5-year collaborative research project, with an overarching goal of improving the quality and usage of EPDs in the building sector marketplace, and also to increase the number of professionals skilled in life cycle assessment (LCA). CBE’s team will focus on exploring ways to make LCA practices more accurate and complete. Additional team members include Howard University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The funding is part of a $160M investment from the EPA to support building industry manufacturers’ development of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and related research activities. The EPA has listed all the grantees here.

Embodied Carbon Impacts of MEP Systems

Robust information on the embodied carbon of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems in buildings is greatly lacking, especially when compared to what is known about EC for building structures, foundations and enclosures. To address this information gap, CBE is using LCA to determine the product and transportation global warming potential (GWP) impacts for variable air volume (VAV) and radiant systems in a case study building. The study serves as an initial step in developing benchmarks and impact reduction strategies for building services. The study compares the material substitution from standard piping design practice to PEX pipe throughout for a four-story office building. Preliminary results show that implementing a like-for-like material substitution to PEX leads to significant reduction of GWP impacts compared to the VAV system. This work is complete with a paper in press.

Beyond the Building Footprint: Life Cycle Impacts of Landscape Architecture

Berkeley researchers and collaborators tour the green roof at the California Academy of Sciences at the project launch.

In partnership with SWA Group’s XL Lab, CBE is performing an evaluation of green roofs, using the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco as a case study. The research is intended to serve as an initial exploration into sustainability challenges that exist beyond the building envelope, and to identify additional research areas for future collaboration and research. The work is funded by the Landscape Architecture Foundation case study investigation program, and we expect results to be published in the fall of 2024.

CBE is also collaborating with JLG Architects and Atelier Ten on a new study that looks at the inclusion of soil carbon sequestration in whole building life cycle assessments by bridging gaps between the fields of agriculture, soil carbon mechanics, carbon offset principles and LCA methodologies. This work was presented at the World Sustainable Built Environment Conference and the paper is available online.

Participation on IEA Annex 89

CBE is a participant in an international effort to focusing on the ‘pathways and actions needed by various stakeholders and decision-makers to implement whole life cycle based net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from buildings in policy and practice.’ This work is supported by an international association of governments, industry and researchers. This work is scheduled to continue until 2027. (CBE faculty and researchers have participated in previous annexes as noted in this previous post. )

Events and Outreach

As this topic is of great industry to industry, CBE is organizing and participating in many conference and webinar sessions. Some past examples are listed here, and more will be added soon.

• Decarbonization and Resiliency in Affordable Multi-Family Housing: Emerging Practices, Research and Case Studies, panel presentation at Greenbuild 2023.
• Using Life-Cycle Assessment and Associated Tools to Reduce Embodied and Operational Carbon Impacts, live webinar in collaboration with PG&E, September 2023.
• Symposium on Modular and Industrial Construction Methods for Low-Carbon Buildings, live webinar in collaboration with PG&E, May 2023.