What are you and your organization doing to help reduce embodied carbon emissions?
Bailey Vigil, EIT II, LEED® Green Associate
Buildings GHG Emissions Analyst, Colorado Division of State Property | Rocky Mountain Regional Hub Lead
I like to imagine a world where buildings themselves are allies in the fight against climate change, where every brick and beam contributes to a sustainable future. Before learning about the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF), I was unaware of the immense collaboration and support available to reduce embodied carbon emissions within the built environment. Joining this mission revealed tenacious individuals working towards major climate goals. Diving into the resources and speaking to CLF members, I started to understand this monumental role in accelerating change. While the resources are valuable, I’ve found something much more meaningful – a community focused on a brighter and better future.
My introduction to CLF came when the Rocky Mountain (RM) Hub was advocating for the Buy Clean Colorado Act, which I was working to implement. The Hub provides resources to help decision-makers, like myself, make informed decisions. This assistance is beneficial and reminded me there are dedicated professionals I can unabashedly contact with any questions I have. With the CLF RM support, I gained insights into implementing Colorado’s first embodied carbon policy and learned about the Hub’s bi-monthly educational series. I began attending each webinar and shortly after became a Hub co-chair.
From the start, I recognized the value of being part of the CLF RM Hub and the camaraderie of sharing knowledge with like-minded people. We are always on the hunt for upcoming topics to bring to our network, allowing us to share updates on decarbonization, resources, and more. Beyond our bi-monthly webinars, we strive to collaborate with other Hubs to create even larger networks of industry professionals and to highlight their work towards reducing GHG emissions.
One successful educational event within the RM Hub was the Happy Hour we hosted earlier this year where local advocates gathered for embodied carbon trivia. At this event, we encouraged attendees to network, collaborate, and compete for prizes! In addition to educating our network, we also want to ensure we meet our goals via metrics. We’ve started to record and review our hub stats to better manage webinar attendance and membership.
Looking ahead, I envision the RM Hub focusing on more in-person events, supporting local policy development, highlighting building decarbonization efforts and providing equal support for infrastructure improvements. Educating on both vertical and horizontal construction allows us to broaden our impact beyond the building sector, bring cutting-edge topics to our community, and expand our reach to new members.
I see the RM Hub continuing to evolve to support the changing times. While we cannot predict the future, we can stay informed and encourage our network to increase impact. We will continue to educate, collaborate with organizations like the USGBC, and push for more hands-on opportunities to build our network of embodied carbon advocates. Our focus will continue to evolve from education to action to immediate impact. With that, we will engage and inspire change. Being part of the RM Hub has shown me the power of community and collaboration in driving impactful, sustainable transformations.
“While we cannot predict the future, we can stay informed and encourage our network to increase impact. We will continue to educate, collaborate with organizations like the USGBC, and push for more hands-on opportunities to build our network of embodied carbon advocates.“
