In response to climate emergencies declared around the world, the building industry must convert to zero carbon. We’ve spent a good while talking about operational carbon, it’s time to bring embodied carbon out of the shadows.

Our biggest threat includes something we can’t even see, embodied carbon was left in the dark at the expense of operational carbon. We know what operational carbon is, the energy associated with our spaces. Embodied carbon is the energy associated with materials we pick: extraction, manufacturer, transportation, maintenance, and end of life.

The building industry has a collective responsibility to design spaces with the lowest carbon footprint, where embodied carbon and operational carbon are assessed together and wholistically.

As we design better performing spaces, addressing embodied carbon emissions is brought into the spotlight. If your home has a disaster, forget spending another 20 years coming up with financial models, you’re going to do whatever it takes to fix it. So why aren’t we doing the same to the only planet we can live on? We have the knowledge, we have the tools, come learn how to tackle embodied carbon today and make it part of everything you design.