Life Cycle Lab engages in a variety of research programs and projects designed to improve the quality and quantity of data, the methodology used to evaluate and compare that data, the tools needed to drive reduction of embodied carbon in materials, design, and construction, and the policies required to drive change.
Current Research Projects
Current research of the Lab was developed under the auspices of the Carbon Leadership Forum. Learn more about our current research at the CLF website.
Parametric Open Data for Life Cycle Assessment
In the spring of 2022, ARPA-E announced a cohort of material and building design teams for the “Harnessing Emissions into Structures Taking Inputs from the Atmosphere” (HESTIA) Program. Each team in the program is working on a project to develop a carbon-negative material or building design solution. CLF, along with a team of researchers at the University of Washington (the Center for International Trade in Forest Products and the Integrated Design Lab), was awarded $3.7 million over 4 years to lead the Parametric Open Data (POD) | LCA Project, during which we are working closely with each HESTIA material and building design team to develop custom, parametric LCA screening tools to evaluate their performance at a material and building scale. The CLF team is also working on a holistic framework for comparative LCA modeling of building materials that includes biogenic carbon, dynamic LCA and carbon storage over the full life of a building.
Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment Benchmarking (WBLCA) V. 2
In 2017, the CLF published the Embodied Carbon Benchmark Study for North American buildings. Since then, the practice of whole-building life cycle assessment (WBLCA) has grown rapidly in the AEC industry, and it has become clear that more robust and reliable benchmarks are critical for advancing work in this field. The new CLF WBLCA Benchmark Study (Version 2) will build upon research and insights from the 2017 study. The project will expand our research methodology and result in geographically and typologically specific benchmarks for buildings, systems, and assemblies modeled with consistent scope and background data. This will allow designers and decision-makers to set reliable embodied carbon targets and understand the potential for reduction throughout the design and construction processes.
2023 CLF North American Material Baselines Report
The Carbon Leadership Forum Baseline values represent an estimate of industry-average GHG emissions for construction materials manufactured in North America. An overwhelming majority of the CLF Baselines published in this report are based on a North American industry-wide EPD if one was available at the time of publication. As such, it is appropriate to use this number as a rough estimate of a product type’s embodied carbon before a specific product has been selected or as a reference value against which product-level comparisons can be made.
Tools for Measuring Embodied Carbon
This list provides a quick overview of available tools for architects, engineers, and consultants to evaluate the environmental impacts of buildings and building materials using life cycle assessment. This is a non-exhaustive list that does not include many tools the Carbon Leadership is tracking that are still under development. We will continue to add to this list as tools are released.