Embodied Carbon Glossary

Emissions associated with the extraction, processing, transportation and manufacture of materials and products up to the point where they leave the factory gate to be taken to a site.

Also known as transportation emissions, A4 emissions are associated with deliveries of materials from the point of manufacture to the jobsite.

Also known as construction phase emissions, A5 emissions are those associated with onsite activities of assembling the building or project, including onsite assembly and installation of materials.

The ACLCA is a non-profit that provides education, awareness, advocacy, and communications about environmental life cycle assessments.

The AIA is the leading organization for architects & design professionals advocating for urgent climate action.

Signed by over 100 architecture firms and many general contractors and consultants, the pledge, created by AIA, asks firms to “support climate health by preferring products that reduce carbon emissions and ultimately sequester more carbon than emitted.”

Creation of 2D or 3D models using software that represent built assets, such as buildings. A widely used means to create building drawings for construction and coordination purposes.

Legislation focused on setting limits on embodied carbon of construction materials, including structural steel, rebar, flat glass, and mineral wool insulation.

Programs comprised of professionals throughout the global building industry that support education and awareness on embodied carbon, including materialsCAN, ownersCAN and contractorsCAN.

The release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere over a specific area and period.

The amount of greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide, emitted by something or someone.

The CLF is a non-profit organization aiming to transform the building sector to drastically reduce the embodied carbon in building materials and construction via research, resource development, cross-industry collaboration, and member-led initiatives.

A product or process in which more carbon is captured than emitted into the atmosphere.

A product or process making no net release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The significant variation of average weather patterns.

The process of designing a product so that its materials and components can be repurposed or recycled continuously.

The life cycle stages of raw materials extraction through manufacturing. This upfront carbon can’t be reduced over time.

The GHG emissions required to produce a product from raw materials extraction (“cradle” where material inputs are “born”) through the end-of-life (“grave”).

The process of reducing or completely eliminating the release of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

The carbon impact of a material or product that is associated with its production and construction or installation. At the building scale, a project’s embodied carbon impact is the sum of all the impacts of its components, such as structure, envelope, and interiors.

Drafted plan outlining the key steps and actions necessary to reduce the embodied carbon of the buildings we design, construct, and operate.

Free and easy-to-use tool that allows benchmarking, assessment, and reductions in embodied carbon, focused on the upfront supply chain emissions of construction materials.

The energy efficiency of a building’s design and/or operations.

An independently verified and registered document that communicates transparent and comparable information about life cycle environmental impact of products.

An environmental indicator which was developed to allow comparisons of the global warming impacts of different gases.

Emissions tied to the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere associated with human activities and climate change.

Passed in 2022, the IRA contains $500 billion in new spending and tax breaks aimed to boost clean energy and manufacturing.

The ISO is an independent organization that develops and publishes a wide range of universally recognized standards.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a globally recognized rating system for green buildings certified by the USGBC.

Compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs, and the potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle.

The total amount of greenhouse gases emitted through the product’s existence – production, use, and disposal.

Describes methods for converting inventory data from a life cycle assessment into a set of potential impacts.

Detailed list of inputs and outputs of resources and emissions associated with each process.

A product or process that releases only small amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Manufacture 2030 is a software focused on bringing major corporations and their supply chain partners together to reach emission reduction targets.

The balance between the amount of greenhouse gases produced and the amount that is removed from the atmosphere.

Carbon impact associated with a building’s day-to-day operations, such as energy usage and water consumption.

A set of rules, requirements, and guidelines for developing environmental product declarations for one or more product categories.

An EPD developed by a single manufacturer for a single product type. Reported impacts can be averaged across different variations of the same product type and manufacturing locations, or they can report impacts for each variation and location individually.

Body or bodies that conduct a Type III environmental declaration program according to ISO 14025:2006. Program Operators maintain a set of rules called General Program Instructions that govern the program’s management, including, but not limited to, procedures for EPD verification and publication, PCR creation, data safe-keeping, and approach to recognizing other Program Operators.

A clearly defined pathway for companies to reduce GHG emissions. Targets are considered science-based if they are in line with the Paris Agreement goals.

Also known as “direct emissions,” these are emissions directly in a company’s control, including onsite burning of fuel for energy or heat, the creation of waste and fueling company vehicles and equipment.

Also known as “indirection emissions from purchased energy,” these emissions are generated from electricity, natural gas, HVAC, refrigeration, and other energy generated off-site for your consumption.

Also known as “indirection emissions from product lifecycle,” these are, according to GHG Protocol, “all indirect emissions (not included in Scope 2) that occur in the value chain of a reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.”

A free and open-access Revit plug-in that supports the export of material quantities from Revit to EC3 and allows synchronization between them.

A whole-building LCA tool that allows architects and engineers to quantify the environmental impact of building materials for whole building analysis, as well as comparative analyses of design options.

Helps account for the quality or quantity of a dataset and its inherent uncertainty and variability.

A nonprofit organization that supports the development of prosperous, healthy and resilient communities through the transformation of the built environment.

Carbon emissions released during the production phase of a product or materials. These emissions cannot be reduced over time.

Compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs, and the potential environmental impacts of an entire building system and its components.