Embodied carbon represents a significant portion of the building industry’s carbon footprint; it is essential to utilize low-carbon construction processes and materials now, before the tipping point of the climate crisis is reached. This course discusses the use of LCAs and EPDs as tools to measure the carbon footprint and environmental impacts of building products and how architects and designers can utilize them to make sustainable choices in the design stages of a project. The course also looks at the growing relevance of EPDs in policies and green building standards, such as the Building Design and Construction rating systems of LEED® v4.1 and the upcoming LEED v5.

Upon completion of this course, the Learner should be able to:

• Describe what embodied carbon is, its significance for climate change, and the role architects can play in reducing it.
• Describe how LCAs and EPDs are developed and what information they convey.
• Explain how to utilize the different elements of LCAs and EPDs to understand a product’s environmental impacts and weigh it against other product options in support of design goals, such as those articulated in LEED v4.1 and v5.
• Discuss some of the codes, policies, and green building programs, such as Living Building Challenge, Zero Carbon Certification, and LEED, in which EPDs are required or incentivized to reduce the embodied carbon impacts of buildings and infrastructure.

Approximately 1 hour. Delivered online, at your own pace.

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