Features

Introducing Allison Hyatt

Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forum Allison Hyatt is a Researcher with the Carbon Leadership Forum at the University of Washington. With years of experience as an architect, she prioritizes forging links between architectural practice and research. As a graduate...

CLF Undergraduate Internship Program

Get paid to learn about green building and embodied carbon Develop a research project aligned with CLF’s workstreams Connect with building industry practitioners in the field Benefits and opportunities This is a paid internship, offering $20/ hr for 10 hours a week...

Introducing Megan Kalsman

Policy Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forumby Megan Kalsman I have always been drawn to and fascinated by cities. How we work, play, and move about them impacts our overall quality of life and the natural environment. So many contributing factors require strategic...

CLF Seattle: The Rich History of a Regional Hub

In October, 2019, 60 people packed a meeting room at LMN Architects in downtown Seattle for the first meeting of a new Regional Hub for CLF members in Washington State. The meeting had been organized by Kjell Anderson with an email he'd sent out to a short list of...

Introducing Meghan Byrne

Engagement and Communications Lead, Carbon Leadership Forum Meghan Byrne works to support collaboration and communication across the CLF Community and CLF Regional Hubs. by Meghan Byrne Climate change can be incredibly overwhelming and disheartening; between daily...

ARPA-E $3.7M Grant to Fund Core LCA R&D

ARPA-E $3.7 Million Grant to Fund Core LCA R&D by Stephanie Carlisle, Senior Researcher for the Carbon Leadership Forum The promise of radically decarbonizing the building sector lies, in part, with replacing high carbon materials with lower carbon...

Introducing Milad Ashtiani

Building and Materials Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington Milad Ashtiani is a civil engineer and PhD candidate at the University of Washington, responsible for the execution of research and analysis, development of guidance documents and...

Decarbonizing Design Resource

By Melissa MorancyDirector, Sustainable Knowledge & Engagement, American Institute of Architects (AIA) In 2015, I worked with AIA’s Historic Resource Committee and Committee on the Environment hosting a small joint conference at Taliesin West called,...

Andrew Himes | TedX: Change Our Buildings, Save Our Planet

Andrew Himes’ 2021 TEDxSeattle talk is an impassioned plea for buildings that help solve climate change instead of contributing to it. With a sense of hope, Andrew asserts that working together to solve the climate crisis gives us the opportunity to “regain a sense...

2022 Embodied Carbon Policy Action

by Meghan LewisSenior Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forum 2021 was a busy year for embodied carbon policy, and 2022 looks to be filled with even more policy action at the federal, state, and local levels to reduce embodied carbon. Read below for a few highlights,...

Introducing Brad Benke

Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington Brad Benke, AIA, is a Research Scientist at the Carbon Leadership Forum focused on creating and improving LCA data, tools, and policies to rapidly scale and advance carbon drawdown strategies for the...

Façade Design Addresses Climate Change

Functional Aspects of Facades and the Role of Embodied Carbon by Vaclav Hasik, Data Manager at Building Transparency Since the beginning of human civilizations, buildings and their facades have had three main functions: shelter from the elements, providing daylight...

Wisconsin Girl Scouts Educate an Industry

Troops 1477 and 1952 Produce Educational Video on Embodied Carbon in Concreteby Julia PoolerLeader of Girl Scout Troop 1477 and 1952, Madison, Wisconsin, Badgerland Council Girl Scout Troops 1477 and 1952 of the Wisconsin Badgerland Council decided they wanted to...

The Embodied Carbon Challenge for India

Kickoff for CLF Bengaluru Outlines Opportunities for Collaboration and Actionby Abhinav Sujit Project director and architect for klimArt Pvt Ltd, and Co-founder of CLF Bengaluru India is expected to grow drastically in terms of both real estate and population by...

CLF Regional Hubs: Changing the World!

CLF Regional Hubs Flourish in Philly, Phoenix, Minnesota, Seattle, Boston, Austin, Atlanta, Ottawa, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Alberta, New York City, Omaha, Vancouver, Bengaluru, Rocky Mountain,...

Six Months into SE 2050

Structural Engineers Combine to Share Learning, Resources, and Ambitious Decarbonization Goals By Chris Jeseritz Chris Jeseritz is a project manager at PCS Structural Solutions and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineer’s (ASCE) Structural Engineering...

Drawdown Building: New Frameworks Changed the Game

An unusual Vermont company works to strengthen the connection between the natural and built environments by Jacob Deva RacusinDesign Studio Director and Director of Building Science and Sustainability, New Frameworks New Frameworks is a worker-owned cooperative...

Buildings as a Solution? Exploring the Potential for Carbon-Storing Materials

Introducing a Summary Report from the Carbon Leadership Forum Authors The research team from the Carbon Leadership Forum at the University of Washington College of Built Environments: Julie Kriegh, PhD, AIA, Research Scientist, Carbon Leadership Forum, Department...

Introducing Meghan Lewis

Senior Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington Meghan Lewis is a Senior Researcher at the Carbon Leadership Forum, where she leads research on procurement of low carbon materials and how public and private embodied carbon policy can support...

Introducing Stephanie Carlisle

Senior Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington Stephanie Carlisle is an architect and environmental researcher whose work investigates the interaction between the natural and built environment, including embodied carbon, life cycle assessment...

Introducing Monica Huang

Research Engineer, Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington Monica Huang is a research engineer with experience in environmental life cycle assessment (LCA). Recent projects include the Wood Carbon Seminars, LCA of Katerra's Catalyst Building, LCA of...

Introducing Andrew Himes

Director of Collective Impact, Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington Andrew Himes is director of collective impact initiatives to reduce embodied carbon emissions in new building construction. He has been a partner in Carbon Innovations LLC, a social...

Looking Ahead to Embodied Carbon Policy Action in 2021

As the tools and expertise available to measure and reduce embodied carbon have expanded, the urgency has shifted necessarily away from basic understanding of the importance of embodied carbon to taking bold steps towards meaningful action and reductions. Policy is...

Learning About Forests, Carbon, and Wood

Wood Carbon Seminars: A CLF Learning Series by Monica Huang Research Engineer, Carbon Leadership Forum In April 2020 we launched the Wood Carbon Seminars, an 8-week webinar series that invited wood experts to answer the building industry’s common and critical...

Renee Cheng: Change Agency, Value Change

Amid the pandemic, economic crash, and social justice outcries awaits a collision that will reveal new questions for the design profession, writes the renowned educator, researcher, and current dean of the University of Washington's College of Built Environments....

Origins: Embodied Carbon Benchmark Study

"We sought to develop a database of existing building embodied carbon studies to discover trends and establish better ways to reduce uncertainties in data collection." By Stefanie Barrera Architectural Staff at SMR Architects, Seattle, WA The College of Built...

EC3 Tool Continues to Transform Markets for Building Materials

Nine months after its November introduction in Atlanta, GA at Greenbuild 2019, the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool is rapidly becoming an essential resource for architects and engineers aiming to design low-carbon buildings. The EC3 tool is a...

Decarbonization and Social Equity

Environmental Stewardship and Social Responsibility: We Can Do It All By Donald I. King FAIA Eco-consciousness and the selling of green design For many of us who have worked in low-income communities for decades, combining green building applications with a concern...

Introducing Anthony Hickling

Managing Director, Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington Anthony Hickling has experience in environmental and social sustainability as well as nonprofit management and fundraising. His foundations in sustainable building are informed by experience at...

Our Mission is Transformation

by Kate Simonen Founding Director of the Carbon Leadership Forum We’re living through an extraordinary moment in human history, as though the 1918 flu epidemic, the 1929 market crash, and the 1963 March on Washington during the civil rights era were to occur...