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Transformative Materials

Accelerating an Ecosystem | October 2021

The potential for meaningful climate impact through materials that serve as carbon sinks now gives such materials a clear advantage, with the potential to reverse the climate profile of buildings from a leading driver of carbon emissions to carbon reservoirs that can help reverse it.

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 of Architecture, College of Built Environments, University of Washington, Principal and founder of Kriegh Architecture Studios | Design + Research.
  • Chris Magwood, Director, Endeavor Center, The Sustainable Building School, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.
  • Wil Srubar III, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Colorado Boulder, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering Program.
  • Meghan Lewis, Senior Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forum, Department of Architecture, College of Built Environments, University of Washington.
  • Kate Simonen, AIA, SE, Executive Director, Carbon Leadership Forum, Department of Architecture, College of Built Environments, University of Washington.

Author contributions: Writing – original draft: J.K., C.M. and W.S.; writing – review and editing: J.K., M.L., C.M., K.S., W.S.; conceptualization: J.K, C.M., K.S., W.S.; methodology: J.K., C.M., W.S.; funding acquisition: J.K. and K.S.; project manager and administration: J.K.; visualization: J.K.

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 of Architecture, College of Built Environments, University of Washington, Principal and founder of Kriegh Architecture Studios | Design + Research.
  • Chris Magwood, Director, Endeavor Center, The Sustainable Building School, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.
  • Wil Srubar III, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Colorado Boulder, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering Program.
  • Meghan Lewis, Senior Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forum, Department of Architecture, College of Built Environments, University of Washington.
  • Kate Simonen, AIA, SE, Executive Director, Carbon Leadership Forum, Department of Architecture, College of Built Environments, University of Washington.

Author contributions: Writing – original draft: J.K., C.M. and W.S.; writing – review and editing: J.K., M.L., C.M., K.S., W.S.; conceptualization: J.K, C.M., K.S., W.S.; methodology: J.K., C.M., W.S.; funding acquisition: J.K. and K.S.; project manager and administration: J.K.; visualization: J.K.

Download the PDF

Version: December 2021

Acknowledgments

The research team would like to thank Microsoft for funding this research and the following individuals:

  • Sean James, Microsoft, Director of Datacenter Research for commissioning the project.
  • Ben Stanley, WSP Sustainability, Energy and Climate Change consultant and project manager and the WSP team member Ryan Dick for their support of the project.

The research team would like to thank Monica Huang for help in preparing this publication and Andrew Himes for preparing the website publication.

transformative materials cover

Citation

Kriegh, J., Magwood, C., Srubar, W., Lewis, M., Simonen, K. (2021).  Transformative Carbon-Storing Materials: Accelerating an Ecosystem Report.  https://hdl.handle.net/1773/48126

Copyright

The Transformative Carbon-Storing Materials: Accelerating an Ecosystem Report is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Cover image: Shutterstock

Appendix 1: Transformative Materials Index

Download the Index

Appendix 2: IDEA lab

The IDEA lab is adapted from proposals by Drs. Lee, Kriegh, and Dossick (UW College of Built Environments);
Dr. Srubar (UC Boulder); and ED. Magwood (Endeavor Center) that were initiated in early 2021.

Resource Library

Reclaimed and Reused: Recommended LCA Modeling Guidance to Support EPDs for Reused Construction Materials

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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

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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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