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Sustainability Resources

Life Cycle Assessment

  • Introduction to Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment: The Basics

    A summary of life cycle changes and considerations for choosing and performing whole building life cycle assessments.

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  • Developing a Functionally Equivalent Design for Comparative WBLCA

    Identify what is required for two or more building designs to be compared to each other.

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  • Exterior dusk view of the Lenox house

    Considerations & Worksheet for Structural WBLCA of Mass Timber Buildings

    Guidance for mass timber building designers undertaking whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA)

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  • WBLCA Worksheet

    This fillable PDF steps through common decisions building designers need to make in each phase of an LCA. It is a companion to the paper, Considerations and Worksheet for Structural WBLCA of Mass Timber Buildings.

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  • Quantifying Light-Frame Components for LCA

    An approach to accurately capturing light-frame elements not explicitly modeled in BIM wall and floor assemblies.

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  • Platte Fifteen interior

    Platte Fifteen Life Cycle Assessment

    LCA study compares embodied carbon, construction costs, and construction speed of a real mass timber office project with functionality equivalent buildings in steel and concrete.

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  • Mass Timber Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Series Introduction

    Series of studies comparing the embodied carbon impacts and cost of mass timber buildings to functionally equivalent buildings

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  • Return to Form Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Study

    Compares a Type IV-B multi-family mass timber building over a I-A concrete podium to functionally equivalent cold-formed steel and concrete alternatives in terms of embodied carbon, cost, and construction speed

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  • Nez Perce-Clearwater Office Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Study

    Compares a Type V-B, two-story mass timber/light-frame wood hybrid and a functionally equivalent alternate designed in steel — in terms of embodied carbon, cost, and construction speed.

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  • University of Denver Burwell Center exterior

    Burwell Center for Career Achievement Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Study

    Compares a three-story, Type III-B mass timber building and a functionally equivalent alternate designed in steel—in terms of embodied carbon, cost, and construction speed.

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  • Denver Office Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Study

    Compares a four-story, Type III-A mass timber office building and a functionally equivalent alternate designed in steel—in terms of embodied carbon, cost, and construction speed.

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  • Mass Timber Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Series Trends and Conclusions

    Summarizes four studies comparing the embodied carbon impacts and cost of mass timber buildings to functionally equivalent alternatives

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  • 1510 Webster Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment

    Compares a 19-story Type IV-A mass timber building and a functionally equivalent Type I-A concrete structure with a primary focus on embodied carbon

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  • Mass Timber in Three Regions Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Study

    Summarizes three studies comparing the embodied carbon and cost of conventional designs to mass timber alternatives in Atlanta, Denver, and Minneapolis

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Carbon

  • Calculating the Carbon Stored in Wood Products

    There are many complex elements associated with carbon accounting and life cycle assessment (LCA). Fortunately, the amount of carbon stored in wood is a straightforward calculation that remains consistent for each wood species.

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  • When to Include Biogenic Carbon in an LCA

    Part 1 in a series on biogenic carbon accounting for wood products – an overview of biogenic accounting practices as defined by international standards.

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  • How to Include Biogenic Carbon in an LCA

    Part 2 in a series on biogenic carbon accounting for wood products – specifics for each stage of the life cycle.

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  • Biogenic Carbon Accounting in WBLCA Tools

    Part 3 in a series on biogenic carbon accounting for wood products – the nuances of different tools.

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  • Long-Term Biogenic Carbon Storage

    Part 4 in a series on biogenic carbon accounting for wood products—covers long-term carbon storage and delayed emissions, and recommendations for reporting with ISO standards

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  • Carbon Accounting Tools for Structural Systems

    An overview of whole building life cycle assessment tools and carbon calculators available to building designers

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  • What Net Zero Means in the Building Construction Industry

    Demystifying the term ‘net zero,’ and how wood structural materials can help move buildings toward a net-zero carbon goal

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  • LEED Credits for Use of Wood Products

    Overview plus in-depth resource for understanding the contribution of structural wood products to LEED certification

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Environmental Product Declarations

  • Current EPDs for Wood Products

    List of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) available for wood products

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  • How to Use Environmental Product Declarations

    Addresses the limitations of using EPDs alone to determine the environmental impacts of construction products

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  • Understanding the Carbon Numbers in a Wood EPD

    Guidance on how global warming potential and biogenic carbon are reported in the North American Softwood Lumber Environmental Product Declaration

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