The CLF staff is an incredibly dedicated team working towards the decarbonization of the building industry through policy, data, and tools advancement. Reflecting on my first three months, there is no questioning the passion that every CLF staff member holds for working towards our mission. But what I’ve found to be exciting about the CLF is the energy and knowledge that is found in the broader network of the CLF Regional Hubs (although I may be slightly partial given it is my job…). 

Connecting with Hub Leaders globally from Austin, TX to Santiago, Chile to Cairo, Egypt has allowed me to gain invaluable insight into how embodied carbon is being addressed within each unique community. Each Regional Hub has leveraged the local energy and knowledge base to create its own network of dedicated members and increase awareness of and access to embodied carbon resources and educational opportunities. As these networks grow and fill gaps within the local community, the work being done at CLF becomes more impactful as Hubs use these resources to inform and energize their communities. 

The biggest lesson I've learned from these connections is the power and importance of collaboration. CLF is grateful for the work being done by all of the dedicated volunteers within our network  involved in the Regional Hubs, participating in our initiatives, and connecting on the online community. Decarbonizing the building industry is a truly intersectional endeavor and highlights the importance of “think globally, act locally” when aiming to lower embodied carbon emissions. I am excited to continue to support the work we are doing at CLF and learn from and support our incredible base of volunteers.

Warm regards,

Meghan

A resource designed to empower CLF Regional Hubs to play a role as local knowledge leaders related to policy opportunities

​by Megan Kalsman, Policy Researcher for the Carbon Leadership Forum

The CLF is excited to share a new resource called the Embodied Carbon Policy Educational Series! The Series is designed for CLF Regional Hubs to use in hosting educational virtual or in person events around embodied carbon policy types.

Policymakers are taking the lead from building industry practices, tools, and projects to begin implementing a variety of policies to reduce embodied carbon on government-funded and private sector projects. The CLF Regional Hubs are uniquely positioned to act as local knowledge leaders related to embodied carbon, providing technical guidance to climate policy organizations or agencies and identifying opportunities for new policies. The training Series acts as a way to explore core embodied carbon policy concepts and frameworks, introduce case studies from existing policies, and instigate conversations about the unique regional or local policy context for each Hub.

Topics 

1. Introduction to the Embodied Carbon Policy Landscape
2. Climate Action Plans
3. Procurement Policies (Buy Clean)
4. Building Codes
5. Zoning and City Incentive Programs
6. Reuse and Deconstruction

Resources accompanying each topic are; introductory video recordings, accompanying slide deck, discussion activity guide, and speaker suggestions. Visit this webpage for a set of resources to assist in training session planning. We are looking forward to great discussions and ideas that come out of these sessions.

The Carbon Leadership Forum Seeks Two Post Doctoral Researchers (and other staff positions coming soon!)

The Carbon Leadership Forum is hiring two post doctoral researchers to support frontier research related to embodied carbon reductions in the built environment.

Postdoctoral Scholar: Computational Methods for LCA Tools Development

This position will help develop life cycle assessment (LCA) models of novel, carbon-storing building materials and building components resulting in open source publishing and tool development. The project will provide an opportunity to develop LCA methods and tools for comparative analysis at the material and building scale, including dynamic LCA, spatio-temporal analysis, and treatment of biogenic materials alongside a multi-disciplinary team. The position is based in Seattle WA, has a duration of 2 years with a possible extension to 4 years. 
Learn more and apply here

Postdoctoral Scholar: LCA Data analyst

This position will help develop a database of whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA) models in collaboration with architecture and engineering firms across North America. The database will be used to generate North American building baselines figures along with analysis of model variability and uncertainty. The position is based in Seattle WA, has a duration of 2 years with a possible extension to 4 years. 
Learn more and apply here

Take a look at all of our upcoming titles at our careers page.

Time to Register for the September 15 Quarterly Forum!

As of the first week of July, 43 MEP firms have signed the Commitment, along with 23 additional organizations signalling their support, including architectural, construction, and structural engineering firms, and NGOs such as the AIA, Architecture 2030, and the Passive House Network. 

MEP 2040 signatories are publicly pledging their firms to decarbonize MEP systems, and commiting themselves and their firms to collective action, supported by transparent data, rigorous science, careful engineering, and thoughtful collaboration.

View recording of the June Quarterly Forum on the CLF website.

Please also share via social media the short Pitch for MEP 2040! created by members of the MEP 2040 Steering Committee.

The third Quarterly Forum will be held on Thursday, September 15. Please register in advance for this essential meeting. And tell all your MEP friends!

At the Frontier of Climate Action in Architecture

by Efrie Escott and Ryan Welch

KieranTimberlake has long believed it is our collective ethical obligation to protect our environment, which increasingly means focusing on radically reducing our carbon emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Our initial forays into embodied carbon accounting in 2008 were driven by a desire to prove the effectiveness of a circular approach to material resources through design for disassembly, recovery, and reuse. And while we confirmed with two case study houses – Loblolly House and Cellophane House™ – that designing for material recovery led to significant lifecycle impact reductions, we also discovered just how difficult it was to generate an accurate bill-of-materials for a building, even with a detailed building information model.