Embodied Carbon Reduction Challenge

The Challenge: Reduce the Upfront Carbon in Building Materials

Unlike a building's operational emissions, which can be reduced over time through energy efficiency renovations and renewable energy, the "embodied carbon" in building materials irreversibly enters the atmosphere as soon as a building is built. This means building material choices are critically significant for a building's overall emissions. Design teams need to gain expertise in low-cost, high-impact options for design, material selection, and product specification that can dramatically reduce the embodied carbon of new buildings and major renovations.

About the Embodied Carbon Reduction Challenge

MassCEC has engaged Built Environment Plus (BE+) to conduct an Embodied Carbon Challenge for new construction and major renovation projects in Massachusetts.  Submissions with replicable, innovative, and impactful changes to reduce embodied carbon in their projects will be best positioned for prizes.

This Challenge has two goals:

  • Demonstrate low-cost, high-impact changes that significantly reduce embodied carbon
  • Assist design teams in gaining expertise to advise clients about options for reducing embodied carbon, including using tools to estimate embodied carbon impacts

BE+ will coordinate trainings, access to Life Cycle Analysis tools, accept submissions, and coordinate the judging panel on behalf of MassCEC.

Status
Open
Award Potential

$10,000 to $50,000

Application Deadline

March 31, 2024

Questions? Contact

Funding Schedule

Submissions for the competition are due on March 31, 2024. 

Who's Eligible

Any company or person on the Design or Construction team may submit a project, subject to the project Owner's approval.  Project Owners may also submit projects.

Eligible projects must

  • be located in Massachusetts
  • be over 20,000 square feet of floor area

For full Competition Guidelines, please refer to the BE+ website.

Apply

BE+ is accepting all submissions and coordinating the judging panel on behalf of MassCEC. 

BE+ is also coordinating all trainings and access to Life Cycle Analysis tools. 

Please refer to the BE+ Embodied Carbon Reduction Challenge website for full Competition Guidelines and other details.

Additional Funding Opportunities

EmPower Massachusetts

Funding type
Grants
Award Potential

$300,000 (Priority Track Implementation)

$150,000 (Non-Priority Track Implementation)

$50,000 (Innovation & Capacity Building)

Application Deadline

Innovation and Capacity Building: Rolling through April 3, 2024

Implementation: October 18, 2023 and April 3, 2024