Documentation Requirements – Above Green

ENERGY PETAL

CARBON OFFSETS

Documentation of project’s embodied carbon offset, including either:

Calculations showing how carbon-sequestering materials sufficiently account for the project’s embodied carbon along with third-party verified sustainable harvesting, or
Receipt from an approved carbon offset program as proof of purchase

EMBODIED CARBON CALCULATIONS

The input assumptions and results from the selected life cycle assessment tool, showing:

Primary materials project embodied carbon baseline,
Primary materials project embodied carbon after reductions, and
Embodied carbon of materials + construction (A1-A5) of primary and interior materials

Material documentation supporting reductions in primary + interior materials claimed in narrative, including:

Basis of Design statements
LCA hot spot analyses
Material specifications

EMBODIED CARBON REDUCTIONS

A two- to three-page narrative describing actions taken to reduce project embodied carbon by 20%, including:

Primary material reduction strategies and the phase(s) in which they occur,
List of interior materials selected, comparing their embodied carbon value to the industry baseline, and
Procurement requests or letters

ZERO CARBON CARBON OFFSETS

Documentation of project’s embodied carbon offset, including either:

Calculations showing how carbon-sequestering materials sufficiently account for the project’s embodied carbon along with third-party verified sustainable harvesting, or
Receipt from an approved carbon offset program as proof of purchase

EMBODIED CARBON CALCULATIONS

The input assumptions and results from the selected life cycle assessment tool, showing:

Primary materials project embodied carbon baseline,
Primary materials project embodied carbon after reductions, and
Embodied carbon of materials + construction (A1-A5) of primary and interior materials showing it does not exceed 500kg CO2e/m2

Material documentation supporting reductions in primary materials claimed in narrative, including:

Basis of Design statements
LCA hot spot analyses
Material specifications
Procurement requests or letters

EMBODIED CARBON REDUCTIONS

A two- to three-page narrative describing actions taken to reduce project embodied carbon by 10%, including:

Primary material reduction strategies and the phase(s) in which they occur

DEFINITIONS

Embodied Carbon

The greenhouse gas emissions associated with the raw material extraction, manufacturing and processing, transportation, and installation of a building material.

Interior Materials

Permanently installed materials included in the finishes (wall, ceiling, floor) and partitions within the envelope of a building. This does not include miscellaneous items or moveable components such as furnishings, fixtures or equipment.

Life Cycle Assessment

A method to assess the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life cycle (i.e., from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair, maintenance, and end of life disposal or recycling), determined in compliance with the ISO 14044 standard.

Operational Carbon

The greenhouse gas emissions associated with the energy uses of a building, or life cycle stage B6, as defined by EN 15798.

Primary Materials

The permanently installed building components that comprise the foundation, structure, and enclosure of a building.

Product

An item that arrives on the project site either as a finished element ready for installation or as an individually specified component of another item assembled on-site. Items that are mixed or assembled on-site, but specified and sold as a unit are considered components of a product, not individual products.

Renewable Energy

Passive solar, photovoltaics, solar thermal, wind turbines, water-powered micro-turbines, direct geothermal or fuel cells powered by hydrogen generated from renewably powered electrolysis. Nuclear energy is not considered renewable, nor are combustion-based sources.

RESOURCES

Carbon Benchmarking Study, Carbon Leadership Forum

This technical report has summarized results of a study wherein data from over 1,000 building life cycle assessments were collected and analyzed.

Carbon Smart Materials Palette, Architecture 2030

This online toolkit provides material options with lower embodied carbon to replace traditional building materials.

LCA Practice Guide, Carbon Leadership Forum

This technical report provides guidance to building professionals regarding how to incorporate life cycle assessment into their typical projects.

Methodology to Calculate Embodied Carbon of Materials, RICS

This informational paper provides guidance about how to calculate cradle-to-gate embodied carbon impacts associated with a project.

Whole Building LCA: Reference Building Structure & Strategies, ASCE

This book provides guidance regarding the role structural engineers can play in reducing the life cycle impacts of a building.

Zero Code: Offsite Procurement of Renewable Energy, Architecture 2030

This technical report provides an analysis of the various options for off-site renewable energy procurement.