According to a new report from sustainable development consultancy Arup, California is one of the first states in the country to take meaningful steps toward slashing embodied carbon emissions from new buildings and some construction materials, and can set a course for clean materials production, procurement, and use across the United States.

Enclosure materials influence embodied carbon goals. This means that selecting and designing for low-carbon enclosure materials is important for reducing the overall embodied carbon impact of the building. It is important to note that using heavier enclosure assemblies may require additional structural support, increasing the embodied carbon associated with the building structure.

Carbon sequestration by trees helps to mitigate atmospheric carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas (GHG). Tree-rich ecosystems serve as "carbon sinks" by absorbing more carbon than they release, which could potentially help offset the carbon emissions from human activities such as using fossil fuel-based energy resources for building construction and operation. 

Saint-Gobain North America, through its building products subsidiary CertainTeed LLC, announced the opening of its newest CertainTeed Architectural facility in Conyers, Georgia

IMPs consist of an outer skin that serves as either metal wall siding or metal roofing, and an inner face that serves as a metal interior finish or liner, with insulation sandwiched between these metal skins.

The American Iron and Steel Institute has published a new research report, “RP23-01: Analytical Equations for Critical Local Buckling Stress of Lipped Channels.”

BASF, with its Neopor GPS graphite polystyrene rigid foam insulation suitable for precast insulated wall panels, has joined AltusGroup as its 10th Innovation Partner.

Building Enclosure was recently joined by Brian Pallasch, EVP/CEO, IBBEC. Brian sat down with us to talk about the Moving Forward report. Each year, The National Institute of Building Sciences Consultative Council publishes the Moving Forward Report to investigate critical challenges facing the building industry.

YKK AP America Inc. and cove.tool have announced a partnership to make it quicker and easier for architects to reach their project’s carbon, cost and energy performance goals.

Pressure is mounting for the building and construction industry to become more sustainable. Designing more energy-efficient buildings is part of that, but reducing embodied carbon is a more pressing — and often challenging — issue.