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Training Resources

Below are resources that will help in your next low carbon project.

Low Carbon Showcase

In Fall 2024, UCOP, Buro Happold, and LMN Architects held a series of trainings called the Low Carbon Showcase. These trainings were to increase the capacity of campus project management staff and managers to identify, evaluate and utilize low-carbon construction materials in existing and future UC capital projects.

This included information on materials that are the biggest drivers of embedded carbon, creating solicitations that set low-carbon requirements, communicating with design professionals to define goals, evaluating design options, understanding EPDs, and evaluating Life Cycle Assessments (LCA). It also included the review of existing facilities at UC’s campuses and medical centers that showcase the benefits of low-carbon and embedded carbon choices in the use of advanced timber products, low-carbon concrete, green steel and other materials.

Material to each session is linked below, and the learning objectives are listed.

Part 1 - Introduction to Embodied Carbon

  1. Introductions, overview of 4-session goals.
  2. Overview of embodied carbon and comprehensive carbon understanding
  3. Basic terminology: LCA, embodied carbon, GHG, EPD, etc.
  4. Comprehensive carbon: operational energy use, refrigerants, and embodied carbon
  5. Six UC embodied carbon reduction Case Studies, including Q+A.

Part 2 - Process

  1. Regulations and Incentives: Buy Clean + CalGreen compliance + Inflation Reduction Act incentives
  2. Overview of embodied carbon analysis within the design and construction process
  3. Decisions and recommendations at each phase
  4. Analysis expectations at each phase
  5. Materials Specifics: concrete, steel, drywall, etc.
  6. Concrete Specs + process
  7. Steel design + procurement
  8. Drywall, studs, flooring, and ceilings

Part 3 - The Details

  1. Typology-specific considerations (new buildings, major and minor renovations)
  2. Tools and Caveats (EC3 demo)
  3. EC3, EPDs, average and product-specific.
  4. EC3 hands on Exercise to understand material averages and specific EPDs.
  5. Introduce and review templates and tools 
    1. Brief discussion of other commonly-used tools: Tally, OneClick, others
    2. Brief discussion of data sources, including LCI databases

Part 4 - Getting it Done

  1. Embodied carbon reduction exercise
  2. RFP language and Spec language that supports low-carbon decision-making
  3. Discussion + Wrap-Up

Resources

Getting Started

Design Optimization

Specifications 

Additional Structural System Resources 

Additional Facade System Resources 

Additional Interior and TI Resources 

Additional MEP Resources 

Additional Landscape Design Resources 

Circular Economy 

Policy 

Tools

Reference “Tools for Measuring Embodied Carbon” by CLF for an up-to-date list of embodied carbon tools. Here are a few to get started: 

Early Concept

Each of the tools below is free to use and provides guidance early in decision making to support  

  • Care Tool: Concept level tool that evaluates operational and embodied carbon comparison of an existing building, building reuse, and new construction. 
  • EPIC: easy to use tool for early design-stage carbon analysis. It uses basic building info to estimate total carbon emissions and lets you test reduction strategies. 
  • Pathfinder: a free online tool that calculates greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage for landscape projects. It is accompanied by a design guide. 

Detailed and Certification Compliant

  • ECOM: The most simple tool available for calculating A1-A3 carbon emissions using industry average EPDs. 
  • EC3: free online tool that uses Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to show carbon emissions for different products. The tool is currently limited to A1-A5 data (with user input required for A5 construction emissions). 
  • OneClick: (CALGreen Compliant) is a web-based tool that includes a comprehensive database of EPDs (incl. product-specific EPDs) and LCA data, supports BIM integration, and offers various licensing options for certifications. 
  • TallyLCA: (CALGreen Compliant) is a Revit plug-in that includes LCA data across all life-cycle stages for various materials using primarily industry average EPDs. The program offers significant consideration for element assemblies that are potentially overlooked or not modeled. EC3 integration is offered with TallyCAT. 
  • Athena: (CALGreen Compliant) is a free LCA software that utilizes data across all life cycle stages. Currently, the tool does not offer BIM integration. 

Product Procurement 

  • EC3: offers the most robust repository of EPDs in the US. Users can search for products and manufacturer data and compare alternatives for free. 

Other

  • Refrigerant Impact Tool: provides refrigerant GWP and refrigerant leakage data for quick and easy estimate of carbon emissions. 

 

 

 

 

Glossary of Terms

Lifecycle assessment (LCA): A method to quantify the carbon emissions and other environmental impacts (such as acidification and air pollution) of assets or products over their whole lifecycle. 

Lifecycle stages and modules: Each lifecycle module (A1, A2...) describes a distinct phase in the lifecycle of an asset, and modules are grouped into stages (e.g. product stage consists of Modules A1–A3). 

Environmental product declaration (EPD): A third-party verified, standardized document that provides the environmental impact of a product, based on the data from an LCA. 

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: Emissions of gasses including carbon dioxide, methane and water vapor that trap heat in the atmosphere. The global warming potential (GWP) of these gasses is measured in CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent). GHG emissions are commonly referred to as "carbon emissions". 

Embodied carbon (EC) : The GHG emissions associated with materials and construction processes throughout the whole lifecycle of an asset (Modules A1–A5, B1–B5 and C1–C4), excluding its operation. 

Operational carbon (OC) : The GHG emissions arising from all energy and water consumed by an asset in use, over its lifecycle (Modules B6 and B7). 

Upfront carbon: GHG emissions up to practical completion, excluding sequestration (Modules A1–A5). May also be referred to as "upfront embodied carbon" 

Whole-life carbon (WLC): The total of all GHG emissions (and removals), including both operational carbon and embodied carbon , over the lifecycle of an asset, including its disposal (Stages A–C). Potential benefits or loads from future energy recovery, reuse and recycling (Module D) are reported separately from WLC. 

Sequestration: The removal and long-term storage of CO2 from the atmosphere in biomaterials such as timber. The carbon stored in these materials is known as biogenic carbon.