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.