Pacific Coast Collaborative Embodied Carbon Policy Case Studies

About

The PCC Low Carbon Construction Task Force, launched at COP26 in November 2021, is a regional initiative between California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, and Vancouver to advance low-carbon materials and methods in building and construction projects. The Task Force aims to create a shared regional strategy with the goal of accelerating innovation, investment, and market development for low carbon materials by leveraging the scale of the Pacific Coast regional economy. The CLF began supporting the taskforce as a technical resource in 2022.

These case studies showcase the region’s policy leadership on low-carbon construction and provide insights to inform other jurisdictions pursuing legislation and other policies within the Pacific Coast region and beyond.

Authors

The research team from the Carbon Leadership Forum at the University of Washington College of Built Environments:

• Megan Kalsman, Policy Researcher
• Meghan Lewis, Senior Researcher
• Kate Simonen, Executive Director

Author contributions: M.K., M.L., and K.S. led conceptualization; M.K. conducted research and analysis; M.L. and K.S. performed review and editing; M.K and M.L. wrote the document.

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the ClimateWorks Foundation. Graphic design provided by Hannah Adams (hannahadamsdesign.myportfolio.com). We would like to thank the following individuals for contributing their experience through interviews and providing content for policy development, challenges, and lessons learned in November and December 2022:

• Daniel Hamilton, City of Oakland, City Administrator’s Office
• Eden Brukman, San Francisco Environment Department
• Hanna Waterstrat, Washington State Department of Commerce, State Efficiency and Environmental Performance Office
• Jess Harris, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections
• Jordan Palmeri, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
• Kika Mueller, British Columbia Office of Mass Timber Implementation
• Kyle Diesner, City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
• Patrick Enright, City of Vancouver, Planning, Urban Design & Sustainability
• Scott Fong, State of California, Department of General Services
• Shawn Wood, City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
• Trilby Hoffman-McGaw, British Columbia Office of Mass Timber Implementation

The individuals from the Carbon Leadership Forum at the University of Washington College of Built Environments who performed review and editing on this report are:

• Monica Huang, Researcher
• Jordan Palmeri, Senior Researcher