PCS Structural Solutions is thrilled to announce its support of the SEI Structural Engineers 2050 (SE2050) Commitment Program! The program works to educate, engage and report the impacts of the built environment and its associated embodied carbon. The Goal—to achieve net zero embodied carbon by 2050. As a coalition partner, PCS will educate staff, report, develop reduction strategies, and advocate for embodied carbon reduction on its projects. Embodied carbon data reported by PCS and other Commitment Program partners to the SE2050 database will be used to help track embodied carbon in the industry, set industry benchmarks, and establish reduction targets. The data base is a powerful step toward meaningful and effective change.
 
Measuring Embodied Carbon
 
Since the advent of the LEED rating system, the Living Building Challenge, and Passive House, much of the emphasis has been on reducing the operational energy consumed by a building during occupancy. As buildings become more energy efficient and achieve net-zero energy consumption, interest is shifting to tackle the environmental impact of a building’s structure, exterior envelope, and interior finishes. These systems’ effects on the environment are measured by a material’s associated embodied carbon—the total impact of all greenhouse gases emitted (measured in CO¬2-equivalent) into the atmosphere by a material, product, or system.
 
For structural materials, embodied carbon is primarily linked to the extraction of the raw material, manufacturing, transportation, construction, maintenance during service life, demolition, and end life of the material. The previously mentioned sustainable building programs are beginning to include points and design guidelines that measure, quantify, and reduce a building’s embodied carbon.
 
Structural engineers can provide clients, building owners, and local/national governments strategies to reduce the environmental impacts of a building’s structural system. However, to reduce our structural designs’ effects, we must first measure. We can quantify our impacts through the use of Whole Building Life-Cycle Assessment tools, which measure the environmental impacts of materials from extraction (cradle) to disposal (grave), or engage product tools that measure impacts from cradle to gate (before a product is transported to the consumer). These tools can help structural engineers spot high embodied carbon areas in our design and offer clients and owners active solutions to mitigate its associated embodied carbon.
 
We are excited to be a part of a collaboration at the forefront of tackling embodied carbon within the built environment. For more information on the SE2050 Commitment Program, please contact Chris Jeseritz, P.E., SEAW Sustainability Committee Chair, SEI Sustainability Committee Member at cjeseritz@pcs-structural.com or go to: https://se2050.org