OVERVIEW We are pleased to release Turner’s inaugural Embodied Carbon Baseline Report for 2022 on the following page. This report reflects emerging trends in the greenhouse gas emissions associated with a sample of our projects’ material footprint. Below is a snapshot of initial conclusions and opportunities for future reduction of embodied carbon in the building materials studied. We hope this benchmarking report will serve as a valuable resource in affecting universal change in the way we build, work, and live in the built environment.
SUMMARY This Report corroborates some widely accepted conclusions relating to
COMPANY
the embodied carbon footprint of new commercial buildings in the United States. In particular, this study indicates:
BASELINE
EMBODIED CARBON
• Concrete and steel materials used in • The size of a building, as measured by gross floor area, is a strong indicator the foundation and structural systems for its overall embodied carbon of a building make up a significant footprint. portion of its total embodied carbon footprint.
2022
TRADE SPECIFIC DETAILS of this Embodied Carbon Baseline include: CONCRETE: • For the purpose of this study, concrete includes ready-mixed concrete, precast concrete, concrete masonry units (CMU), aggregate, shotcrete, and flowable fill. • Cementitious soil stabilization is not included in this study, although early indications show that, when used, this may be a strong contributor to a building’s overall embodied carbon footprint.
FOR QUESTIONS OR MORE INFORMATION:
• In this study, concrete materials generated an average of 49% of a building’s structural and foundation-related embodied carbon footprint. STRUCTURAL STEEL:
Rowan Parris
Embodied Carbon Program Manager rparris@tcco.com 980.402.4881
Lindsey Landwehr-Fasules Director - Sustainability lfasules@tcco.com 312.446.0944
Julia Gisewite
V.P. Sustainability jgisewite@tcco.com 202.439.9970
• For the purpose of this study, structural steel includes hot-rolled sections, concrete reinforcing (rebar, wire mesh, and pre- or post- tensioning tendons), metal decks, plate steel, hollow sections, and merchant bar. • In this study, steel materials generated an average of 51% of a building’s structural and foundation-related embodied carbon footprint. • The largest contributor within the structural steel category in this study are hotrolled sections, which make up an average of 49% of the structural steel-related embodied carbon footprint. ADDITIONAL MATERIAL CATEGORIES : • Several material types not included in this study show early indications of significance, including: o Aluminum o Glass*
o Insulation o Wood*
• Future work may explore these additional material categories to expand the scope of this study. Materials denoted with an asterisk (*) indicate high priorities in line with ESG reporting requirements through Turner’s parent company, Hochtief. • More information and other benchmarking efforts to address embodied carbon in buildings can be found at https://carbonleadershipforum.org/research/.