Webcor and Climate Earth Team to Measure Carbon in Building Materials
Webcor Builders, one of the largest contractors in California, and Climate Earth, a greenhouse gas accounting firm, are joining forces to develop a database of the greenhouse gas emissions embedded in construction materials to help design buildings with smaller carbon footprints.
Webcor Builders, one of the largest contractors in California, and Climate Earth, a greenhouse gas accounting firm, are joining forces to develop a database of the greenhouse gas emissions embedded in construction materials to help design buildings with smaller carbon footprints.
Climate Earth will focus on providing the emissions data on various building materials, such as steel or concrete. Webcor will use the emissions data with its own software and technical expertise with factors like cost and structural integrity to construct safe and cost-effective buildings with materials that generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions during their production.
"We believe we can save 30 to 40 percent of the energy embedded in that building by using better materials and systems," said Phil Williams, Webcor's vice president of technical assistance and sustainability.
The energy it takes to make the materials used in the construction of a building often exceeds the energy consumed during the first 10 to 15 years of the building's operation, Williams said.
Steel and concrete are extremely carbon-intensive, but there have been a variety of innovations taking place in recent years, such as lighter weight concrete mixes and formulas, said Chris Erickson, Climate Earth's CEO.
"A company may make a stronger concrete that would allow you to make the floor an inch or two thinner," Erickson said. "That may be a good trade-off."
But these benefits are seldom, if ever, quantified in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. "If no one is measuring it, it doesn't count," Williams said.
Climate Earth and Webcor will collaborate on eight to nine construction projects over next year and work with multiple suppliers to gather data, Erickson said. "At the end, we think we'll have a very robust database."
The database will be used by Climate Earth and Webcor on behalf of their clients, but it could also be used in several applications, such as for companies that want to build a new data center, relocate their office or explore new designs for retail stores.
It will be based on an existing baseline database called the Comprehensive Environmental Data Archive (CEDA) Climate, which includes emissions embedded in many products that businesses use, such as glasses, door knobs or cups.
Though proprietary in nature during the development phase, the companies haven't ruled out someday sharing the data with the industry.
"Concrete" -- CC licensed by Flickr user The Lebers.
Climate Earth will focus on providing the emissions data on various building materials, such as steel or concrete. Webcor will use the emissions data with its own software and technical expertise with factors like cost and structural integrity to construct safe and cost-effective buildings with materials that generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions during their production.
"We believe we can save 30 to 40 percent of the energy embedded in that building by using better materials and systems," said Phil Williams, Webcor's vice president of technical assistance and sustainability.
The energy it takes to make the materials used in the construction of a building often exceeds the energy consumed during the first 10 to 15 years of the building's operation, Williams said.
Steel and concrete are extremely carbon-intensive, but there have been a variety of innovations taking place in recent years, such as lighter weight concrete mixes and formulas, said Chris Erickson, Climate Earth's CEO.
"A company may make a stronger concrete that would allow you to make the floor an inch or two thinner," Erickson said. "That may be a good trade-off."
But these benefits are seldom, if ever, quantified in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. "If no one is measuring it, it doesn't count," Williams said.
Climate Earth and Webcor will collaborate on eight to nine construction projects over next year and work with multiple suppliers to gather data, Erickson said. "At the end, we think we'll have a very robust database."
The database will be used by Climate Earth and Webcor on behalf of their clients, but it could also be used in several applications, such as for companies that want to build a new data center, relocate their office or explore new designs for retail stores.
It will be based on an existing baseline database called the Comprehensive Environmental Data Archive (CEDA) Climate, which includes emissions embedded in many products that businesses use, such as glasses, door knobs or cups.
Though proprietary in nature during the development phase, the companies haven't ruled out someday sharing the data with the industry.
"Concrete" -- CC licensed by Flickr user The Lebers.
