Seven Easy Strategies To Dramatically Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Buildings in Cold Climates in Rural Locations If the science about climate change is accurate, we have three to seven years to dramatically reduce emissions to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change. AIA acknowledges and advocates that architects have a role to play in helping to reduce our global carbon footprint1. We now know the embodied carbon in buildings significantly contributes to overall emissions. We must focus on reducing this as well as operational carbon for energy efficiency. Because buildings are such a significant contributor, they also offer a significant opportunity for carbon storage2. The point of this article is to help Idaho architects, engineers, and builders cut through the challenges of our region to realize the low-hanging fruit of implementing low and carbon-negative materials in our projects. In a relatively rural state, we face some challenges to implementing practices that help us reduce the embodied carbon footprint of buildings. In general, the building industry evolves slowly, and being a rural area, even more slowly. We are far from materials and product suppliers, and professional peer and contractor learning may be slower than in more fast-paced markets. And, our successful, leading high-cost markets happen to be fairly conservative and stable rather than motivated to evolve. The common sentiment is: why fix something if it is not broken and is making money? This list of seven strategies is simple to implement – these are tools you can use beginning today – and will make a dramatic difference. First, we have to understand what causes an embodied carbon footprint. It helps to think of it in terms of currency: everything – all the “stuff” in our lives – either puts in or takes out carbon (energy, emissions) from the atmosphere. Too much carbon in the atmosphere is the problem which means too many things are putting it in rather than taking it out (storing or sequestering it). However, some things that put carbon in actually “payback” their input over time. Anything that puts in less than it takes out over its lifetime has a climatepositive payback, and if the payback period of the product is short, it is a good investment in our global health. Insulation is a primary example of this: it puts some carbon out as it is getting produced, but then it saves operational carbon over time. Some insulations do a better job at paying back than others.3 Credit Alex Wilson / Buildinggreen.com BY LINDSEY LOVE, ASSOC. AIA, NCARB 36 AIA IDAHO ARCHITECTURE | 2022-23 | aiaidaho.com
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