With the construction industry being a significant contributor to carbon emissions, the need to lower carbon footprints in construction has never been more urgent. At Building Enclosure, we’re covering more and more ways on how we can help transform the industry to build a more sustainable future.

Now more than ever, it’s critical that we’re committed to embodied carbon reduction. To do this, AEC professionals need to focus on reducing the embodied carbon of materials and construction processes, which is often overlooked but crucial for overall carbon reduction

The marketplace of tools for measuring embodied carbon has blossomed recently. A variety of platforms are being launched that are determined to change the way we assess our buildings for global warming potential.

Recently, our blogger Daniel Overbey, laid out a list of available tools to help you assess embodied carbon and operational carbon.

Embodied Carbon Tools

• Athena EcoCalculator
• Athena Impact Estimator for Buildings
• Beacon
• Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability
• Buildings and Habitats Object Model (BHoM)
• Building Life-Cycle Cost (BLCC) Programs
• Carbon Avoided: Retrofit Estimator (CARE) Tool
• Construction Carbon Calculator
• Cove.Tool Carbon Feature
• Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3)
• Early Phase Integrated Carbon (EPIC)
• Hawkins Brown Emission Reduction Tool (H\B:ERT)
• i-Tree Calculator
• Kaleidoscope
• One Click LCA
• One Click LCA Planetary
• Pathfinder
• Tally Climate Action Tool (tallyCAT)
• Tally Life Cycle Assessment (tallyLCA)
• Upstream
• ZGF's Concrete LCA Tool

Operational Carbon/Energy Performance Tools

• BEopt
• COMcheck
• Cove.Tool
• DesignBuilder
• eQuest
• Green Building Studio
• HEED (Home Energy Efficient Design)
• HAP (Hourly Analysis Program)
• Insight
• OpenBuildings Energy Simulator
• OpenStudio
• Passive House Planning Package
• REM/Rate
• Sefaira
• Simergy
• TRACE
• Virtual Environment (VE)
• WUFI Passive
• Zero Tool

Lowering carbon emissions in construction requires a multifaceted approach involving innovation, policy support, and industry collaboration. By embracing sustainable practices and materials, optimizing energy use, and considering the entire lifecycle of buildings, the construction industry can significantly reduce its carbon footprint.

The shift towards a greener construction industry is not just a necessity but an opportunity to lead in sustainability. It promises not only to mitigate the impacts of climate change but also to create healthier, more resilient buildings and communities.

Let’s build a future where every structure we erect contributes to the well-being of our planet, demonstrating that progress and sustainability can go hand in hand.

So what do you think about these tools? Do you use any of them? I want to know! You can connect with me directly at lewisl@bnpmedia.com.