Builders scrap construction carbon

Architecture and design firm Mithun, along with landscape architects at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas, is making it easier for builders to measure the carbon output of construction projects.

The two groups in April launched BuildCarbonNeutral.com, an online carbon calculator that tallies the amount of carbon dioxide released when transporting building materials to the construction site, and the amount of carbon released due to ecosystem degradation at the site. The calculator also counts the amount of carbon captured through landscape installation at the site.

By using the calculator, designers can see how they might reduce their carbon footprint during site selection and during the design process, and the amount of carbon offsets their clients would need to purchase to negate the construction process. “Even more than offsetting, it’s about reduction,” says Sean Cryan, a LEED Accredited Professional at Mithun and project leader for BuildCarbonNeutral.com. “Any time people start to count things, it’s the first step to reducing.”

The carbon emissions associated with the construction process of a new building represents 13 percent to 18 percent of a building’s total embodied carbon, according to the United Environmental Programme. For landscape projects, the construction process accounts for 100 percent of the project’s embodied carbon.

While sophisticated, expensive tools, such as Alalytica and the TriForma extension for MicroStation, already exist, Cryan says BuildCarbonNeutral.com is accessible to builders that would not otherwise attempt to go through the exercise.