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Model LCA Specifications

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Model specifications can be used to request embodied carbon data for structural materials.

The purpose of the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) specifications is to establish recommended product specific LCA reporting data requirements, including the reporting of material quantities, with a goal of being able to measure embodied carbon footprints of new construction projects and to help secure LEED v4 credits for those projects.

The Division 1 section outlines the requirements and background information for the LCA data required, and provides context to the material specific sections that follow. This section should always be included in any specification that solicits LCA data requests that utilize this proposed language.

The additional material-specific sections are intended to be inserted into a complimentary Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) formatted project specification, with the added sections supplementing other material specific requirements.

This LCA specification approach is intended to provide a concise and consistent information request of material supply industries, allowing for a more predictable process for responding to LCA data requests. The goal would be that individual firms that use these specifications minimize the number of modifications they make to their project specific specification data asks, with the hope of industry seeing a more stable and consistent ask and in-term more reliable and normalized data becoming available.

It is important to note that, with Product Category Rule (PCR) and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) LCA data as being developed today, the intent is to be able to compare LCA data between suppliers of similar materials, but not to compare LCA data between various materials. For example, EPDs cannot be compared unless compatible PCR and Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) datasets are used. It is imperative that any individual or entity attempting to perform comparative LCA studies between material types qualify the differences between the reported data to prevent inaccurate LCA results, and only to combine compatible information sets.

The Model Specification project is being led by Leif Johnson ([email protected]) at MKA Structural Engineers and is currently in the process of being reviewed by a range of stakeholders.

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Download the editable word documents for open access use. – June 2018

Updated Version Available: We’ve recently updated this page with new content. For the latest version, please visit the editable word documents updated January 16, 2025

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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