Since 2008, individuals, businesses, industries, organizations, policymakers and other advocates working toward a healthier, fully sustainable planet have leveraged the momentum of Zero Emissions Day. Held this year on Sept. 21, the day’s name typically evokes similar imagery of the challenge in front of us. Industrial stacks spewing black smoke. Traffic jams under a cloud of tailpipe emissions. Smog as a permanent element in cityscapes. Missing from these images are the less obvious, unseen sources of carbon emissions that are part of our daily lives. One striking example is the carbon footprint of building and construction materials throughout their life cycles—from manufacturing and transport to use and end of life.
Typically, we focus on addressing operational emissions, like the energy used to heat and cool a building. However, steel, lumber and most other construction materials are often a significant source of embodied carbon, which factors in emissions from the manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance and disposal of these materials. Although not as noticeable, it is still a significant carbon debt we owe Mother Nature. Fortunately, there are ways to repay it—and pay it forward for our collective future.