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I suppose I shouldn't be surprised: Markets like (and respond to) clear signals and recent signals are pretty clear: Reducing your carbon footprint is an important thing. For example, pretty much every new energy management software tool includes a carbon emissions overlay. This week, Tririga announced a footprint tool as part of their TREES software package. In the last couple of weeks, Cisco and Scientific Conservation noted similar capabilities.
One thing many people don't know about cement is that for every unit of CO2 released by the energy that goes into the process to bake the limestone to prepare it for making cement, another unit is released from the limestone itself in a process known as calcining. In an emerging world of carbon accounting and potential carbon liability, one can only wonder the conversation inside the boardrooms of the cement industry, the most ubiquitous and most carbon-intensive building material made.
The Cement Sustainability Initiative is trying to amortize the embodied carbon in concrete waste through promoting extensive recycling. This is a very positive step: From Lifecycle Assessment we know that one cannot separate the environmental impact of a material from its application, so extending the life of concrete in the market is a good thing. At the end of the day, though, it will boil down to chemistry: Can someone create a zero/low-carbon cement with enough volume to make a difference?
Even though they are one of the most effective energy-saving measures, good windows are notoriously difficult to justify in a retrofit situation mostly because people zero out the value of important features such as sound insulation, UV reduction, etc. as well as fail to understand the importance of window leaks in overall infiltration, the energy bane of most existing buildings.
Upstart green building product and material company Serious Materials (disclosure: I am an unpaid advisor) has released a special version of its SeriousWindow -- the only window in my opinion that truly deserves to be called "superwindow"-- designed for the Weatherization Assistance Program. California Energy Commissioner Art Rosenfeld referred to the oil energy equivalent lost due to poor performance as "one Alaska Pipeline" (back when that actually meant something energy-wise).
Finally, I can report firsthand (this is being written in Shanghai) that China's commitment to its partnership with the U.S. on climate is no mere window dressing. As part of its 11th Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government is investing billions into a series of high-tech green industrial parks and R&D centers in their "Rust Belt" in the northeast of the country in a bid to get a better handle on its energy consumption. My crystal ball tells me there will be some interesting innovations to report on in the future.
Rob Watson is the executive editor of GreenerBuildings.com. You can reach Rob at rob.watson@greenerworldmedia.com or follow him on Twitter @KilrWat.
Image by spekulator.
