In this BC Housing Edutalk, expert Jeremy Field explains how the Vienna House team found cost-effective ways to lower embodied carbon in the project. Listen to audio file here:
About This Interview
Embodied carbon emissions come from making, transporting, and using building materials, plus tearing down buildings at the end of their life. These materials can include steel, concrete, insulation, and glass.
In this BC Housing Edutalk, Jeremy Field explains:
- How the Vienna House team approached the challenge of calculating and reducing the project’s embodied carbon.
- Why many low-carbon materials do not require construction contractors and skilled building trades to seek out additional training.
- How the future residents of Vienna House will be living a low-carbon lifestyle without even trying.
Listen in as Field cracks open his spreadsheets to walk us through the key decisions that minimized the amount of greenhouse gas emissions baked into the building.
At the Mic
Jeremy Field, a Sustainability Associate with Introba, has extensive experience identifying cost-effective opportunities to reduce embodied carbon in new buildings. Through his involvement in the Canada Green Building Council’s (CAGBC) Embodied Carbon Technical Advisory Group, Jeremy has advised on embodied carbon requirements for Version 4 of the CAGBC Zero Carbon Standard. He’s also lectured and advised local governments on embodied carbon requirements.
Mentioned in This Recording
- Reducing Embodied Carbon in Canada’s Buildings This CAGBC white paper summarizes insights from the inaugural National Embodied Carbon Summit, held last year in Toronto. The resource captures industry priorities and actionable next steps that will help drive alignment, innovation, and needed government and industry support to scale up low-carbon construction.
- Carbon Capture and Utilization in Cementitious Building Materials This Market Primer Provide an introduction to CCU-CBM technologies, summarizes their current status in Canada, and outlines the role these technologies could potentially play in the decarbonization of the building sector.
- Life Cycle Biogenic Carbon Accounting: A Primer for Wood Building Products and Construction Systems This resource summarizes the the current state of knowledge about biogenic carbon accounting—the measurement of how much carbon is stored in wood building products and bio-based construction systems.
Related Resources
Low Carbon Solutions for Multi-Unit Residential Buildings
The BC Housing report discusses opportunities for more effectively balancing energy efficiency gains in multi-unit buildings while minimizing embodied carbon. (November 2024).
The Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) serves as a central clearing house of research and industry best practices on embodied carbon in British Columbia. The Zero Emissions Innovation Centre program helps designers, policy makers, consultants, businesses, and building owners reduce embodied carbon in their projects. Visit the CLF’s Resources Page for regionally-relevant case studies, product sourcing guides, and more.
