On the first of August, CLF released Version 2 of our 2023 Material Baselines report, fixing typos, adding 8 remaining appendices, and improving accessibility of the report and appendices by adding bookmarks and hyperlinks to the PDF files. (No changes were made to the Baseline Table of Values content.)

The CLF Baseline values represent an estimate of industry-average GHG emissions for construction materials manufactured in North America.  An overwhelming majority of the CLF Baselines published in this report are based on a North American industry-wide EPD if one was available at the time of publication. As such, it is appropriate to use this number as a rough estimate of a product type’s embodied carbon before a specific product has been selected or as a reference value against which product-level comparisons can be made.

CLF will host a webinar on August 30, 2023, from 10:00 - 11:30 am (PST) to present the report. When you register in advance, please provide any questions you have about the report. Reviewing your questions will help us prepare the webinar's content ahead of time.  (This event was rescheduled from August 10 to August 30.)

September Quarterly Forum:
Focus on the Carbon Balance for MEP Systems

The Carbon Leadership Forum issued the Challenge for MEP engineers to design all projects to meet net zero carbon goals by 2040. Over 100 firms have now signed on to join the movement. 

The MEP 2040 Commitment:

• Establish a company plan
• Request low-GWP refrigerants
• Request EPDs
• Participate in Forums

The Seventh Quarterly Forum coming up on September 14, 2023 will focus on the whole-carbon balance between operational and embodied carbon for energy-using MEP systems.

Ethan Ellingboe is a Research Engineer at the Carbon Leadership Forum. He develops knowledge, data, and resources to advance the state of LCA practice and carbon accounting for building materials. Ethan applies his education in chemical engineering and materials science to investigate, model, and simulate processes and materials. 

by Ethan Ellingboe

What do fermentation and concrete, two of the topics I have researched, have to do with each other, and with preserving nature? More than you might think! Fermentation is being explored for sustainable production of a wide variety of materials including cement, packaging, and proteins. In addition to researching embodied carbon and construction materials, I have also conducted research in a variety of fields ranging from food and hemp to automotive materials.

I am hopeful that future material manufacturing processes will achieve harmony with the Earth’s natural environments rather than harming them. It is clear that new approaches to produce the materials we rely on as humans will be necessary if we are going to turn the climate crisis around. From my perspective, capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide (and possibly other greenhouse gases) in building materials presents one of the greatest opportunities that humans have right now to make a positive impact on the Earth’s climate and natural environments.

Check out this new TED Talk from CLF partner Rheaply’s CEO, Dr. Garry Cooper, all about the essential role cities can play in reducing carbon emissions – especially when it comes to keeping FF&E and building materials in use and out of landfills. As Garry says in his talk, cities occupy just 3% of global landmass, yet occupy more than half of the world’s population and command over 75% of global resources. Cities are truly ground zero in the fight against climate change, and applying reuse can help us achieve a net zero future.