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EC3 Tool Methodology Beta — 2019

NOTE

This beta document has been superseded by the 2023 Material Baselines Report, published in April 2023. The 2022 report constitutes an update to the 2019 Beta Baselines and the 2021 Material Baselines Report with improved data sourcing, citation, and categories.

2023 Material Baselines

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The Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool, is a free and easy to use tool that allows benchmarking, assessment and reductions in embodied carbon, focused on the upfront supply chain emissions of construction materials.

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Research Purpose:

To develop the methods used to categorize and assess the embodied carbon data in the EC3 tool.

About

The Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool is an open-access tool that allows benchmarking, assessment, and reductions in embodied carbon, focused on the upfront supply chain emissions of construction materials. This tool utilizes building material quantities from construction estimates and/or BIM models and a database of digital, third‐party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). Powered by this data, the EC3 tool enables the specification and procurement of low carbon options.

With primary support from the Charles Pankow Foundation, this tool has been incubated at the Carbon Leadership Forum in collaboration with C Change Labs, and developed with input from nearly 50 industry partners. Read more about the initiative.

The Carbon Leadership Forum is responsible for developing the methods to categorize data and assess EPDs that are used in the EC3 tool. In November of 2019, the CLF published the beta versions of the general methodology and material category baselines to support the public beta version of the tool. Ongoing work by the CLF includes: updates to the methodology general report and supporting documentation, including production of methodology material reports; updates to the material category baselines; technical data support to help ensure that EPDs are appropriately represented and categorized in the tool; and facilitation of stakeholder input and discourse.

EC3 Resources Description Access
Peer-reviewed journal article on methodology Waldman, B., Huang, M., & Simonen, K. (2020). Embodied carbon in construction materials: a framework for quantifying data quality in EPDs. Buildings and Cities, 1(1), 625–636. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.31 Link
Tool Methodology Beta 11/19/2019 Download
EC Baselines Beta 5/20/2020 Download
Embodied Carbon Action and the EC3 Tool Video overview by Kate Simonen Watch
Data Comparability and the EC3 Tool Video discussion by Kate Simonen on the limited comparability of embodied carbon data Watch
Uncertainty and the EC3 Tool Video discussion by Kate Simonen  diving into some of the details about how uncertainty is estimated in the tool Watch
Manufacturers and the EC3 Tool Video discussion by Kate Simonen about how to find your product data in the tool Watch

 

Research Team

  • K. Simonen (PI)
  • B. Waldman
  • M. Huang

Research Funding

Lead funder for this methodology research project was the Charles Pankow Foundation.

EC3 Tool Sponsors

Over 50 companies, associations, and organizations across the building industry partnered to sponsor and particpate in the development of the EC3 tool. Learn more about the project.

 

 

Resource Library

Embodied Carbon Policy Reduction Calculator

The Policy Reduction Calculator is a web-based tool developed by the Carbon Leadership Forum to provide policymakers with data-driven insights on low embodied carbon policies in North America.

Reclaimed and Reused: Recommended LCA Modeling Guidance to Support EPDs for Reused Construction Materials

Material reuse is one strategy for reducing the embodied carbon of construction. While the preparation of previously used materials for reuse has an environmental impact, it avoids many of the resource extraction and manufacturing impacts of building with newly manufactured products. Given the amount of demolition and deconstruction across North America (and beyond), there is a vast potential for material reuse to expand in scale. However, barriers to material reuse scaling exist.

DEQ Low Embodied Carbon Housing Program: Roadmap to Success

Embodied Carbon Pathways to 2050 for the United States, a collaboration between the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF), RMI, and the University of Washington (UW) Life Cycle Lab, provides an assessment of embodied carbon from US construction materials and explores pathways to align with a 1.5°C global warming limit.

International Embodied Carbon Data Availability: A Review of Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Availability in Europe, China, and Australia

CLF completed a landscape analysis of product-level embodied carbon data availability in regions outside North America with the goals of: (i) understanding how LCA/EPD data availability varies globally; (ii) informing where targeted initiatives are needed to increase the availability of data; and (iii) determining whether adequate EPD data exists to develop CLF Material Baselines outside North America. This report summarizes our findings and provides initial insights into what data is available to inform low-carbon procurement efforts in Australia, China, and Europe.

The CLF Benchmark Explorer

Emissions from the operations of buildings and infrastructure are significant, well-understood contributors to national and global greenhouse gas emissions. However, the contribution of embodied carbon—emissions associated with the manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal of construction materials across the life cycle of a building or asset—is neglected by comparison. Even at the global level, embodied carbon estimates are typically based on manufacturing emissions from the production of a handful of the highest-impact materials (e.g. concrete, steel, aluminum, and wood).

Embodied Carbon Pathways to 2050 for the United States

Embodied Carbon Pathways to 2050 for the United States, a collaboration between the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF), RMI, and the University of Washington (UW) Life Cycle Lab, provides an assessment of embodied carbon from US construction materials and explores pathways to align with a 1.5°C global warming limit.

Washington State Carbon Emissions Estimation: 2025 – 2050

Emissions from the operations of buildings and infrastructure are significant, well-understood contributors to national and global greenhouse gas emissions. However, the contribution of embodied carbon—emissions associated with the manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal of construction materials across the life cycle of a building or asset—is neglected by comparison. Even at the global level, embodied carbon estimates are typically based on manufacturing emissions from the production of a handful of the highest-impact materials (e.g. concrete, steel, aluminum, and wood).

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