{"id":112516,"date":"2024-09-02T09:26:47","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T13:26:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/?page_id=112516"},"modified":"2024-10-04T11:08:11","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T15:08:11","slug":"toolkit-carbon-understand-the-documents","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/climatetoolkit\/toolkit-carbon-understand-the-documents\/","title":{"rendered":"Understand the Documents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-sandow-article-header\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-header\" style=\"object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 50%\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"659\" src=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//wp-content//uploads//2024//09//ClimateToolkit_esto_2021CP09-22668.jpg/" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-112519\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ClimateToolkit_esto_2021CP09-22668.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ClimateToolkit_esto_2021CP09-22668-300x129.jpg 300w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ClimateToolkit_esto_2021CP09-22668-1024x439.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ClimateToolkit_esto_2021CP09-22668-768x330.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group article-header_intro none\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p style=\"color:#cf5a41\" class=\"size-regular wp-elements-87e96050bffda53cfb229baa26041a92\">Breakout: Carbon 101<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading size-large\"><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>Understand the Documents<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group none\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"size-regular\">In order to assess the carbon footprint of a project, designers have to rely on certain types of documents and information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong><strong>LCA&nbsp;<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">A Life Cycle Assessment of all the environmental impacts of any project, product, process, or organization. LCAs assess all the impacts from \u201cCradle to Grave,\u201d which means they cover everything from the origin of materials to the end of its useful life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group none\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>EPD&nbsp;<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">An Environmental Product Declaration is a third-party certified report created by manufacturers to communicate all the environmental impacts of their product or material offerings, as defined by material-specific Product Category Rules and ISO standards. It translates the information from a product LCA into specific data points (called \u201cindicators\u201d) that designers can use to inform their decisions. EPDs are available as PDF documents on manufacturer websites (look in the sustainability data for any product) or from databases like mindful MATERIALS, the Sustainable Minds Transparency Catalog, or EC3. <strong>(Dig deeper with this primer from the <a href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////carbonleadershipforum.org//environmental-product-declarations-epd-101///">Carbon Leadership Forum<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group none\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong><strong>GWP&nbsp;<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">Standing for Global Warming Potential, this is the number that represents embodied carbon on an EPD. The GWP is measured in kgCO2e\/unit, but it doesn\u2019t represent just carbon dioxide emissions\u2014it actually measures how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over 100 years, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO2). So it takes into account the global warming that could be caused by any greenhouse gasses emitted per unit of the product. For some products, a unit might be defined by area (example: one square foot) while in others it might be by volume (example: one cubic foot) or weight. This is why GWP numbers cannot be compared directly across different types of products.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group none\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong><strong><strong>Baselines<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">How can you tell if the GWP number you are seeing on an EPD is \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad\u201d for that particular type of product? That\u2019s where baselines come in. Published by the Carbon Leadership Forum annually, these numbers provide a benchmark for GWP for many material categories. The 2023 baselines are available<a href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////carbonleadershipforum.org//clf-material-baselines-2023///"> here<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group none is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"size-regular\"><strong>HELPFUL LINK:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size\" style=\"font-size:16px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////carbonleadershipforum.org//clf-material-baselines-2023///" style=\"border-radius:8px;background-color:#588bcc\">2023 baselines<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group none\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"comment size-regular\">
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