New Report! Building with Biomass: A New American Harvest
Learn how manufacturing building products from domestically sourced upcycled biomass can create more jobs and affordable healthy housing. Download the report here.
HomebuildersCAN
A community of practice to measure and reduce embodied carbon in home construction, powered by RMI
Latest News
New Case Studies: Learn From Other Builders Who Have Successfully Reduced the Embodied Carbon of Their Homes
Visit our ‘Resources’ page to see our latest collection of case studies and learn about key strategies and lessons learned on how builders have increased the climate performance of their homes.
Missed the launch Event?
Catch up by watching the recording for an overview of the program.
HomebuildersCAN supports members across three key areas
Increased home performance. Profitable practices. Building sector alignment. The program is designed with flexibility to support homebuilders in each of these areas no matter where they are in their embodied carbon journey, from those just learning about what embodied carbon is to those with built example-demonstrating reductions. As a member, you'll work alongside experts and leading practitioners to:
Increase
performance
Increase embodied carbon performance and share your successes
- Learn how to measure embodied carbon using standards and tools
- Identify and analyze embodied carbon hotspots and reduction opportunities
- Develop reporting strategies that demonstrate embodied carbon improvements
- Highlight your commitments and turn them into relatable stories
- Let buyers know about high-value features
Profitable
practices
Adopt and scale profitable low-carbon building practices
- Discover emerging low-carbon materials and advanced construction techniques
- Access leading building decarbonization research and resources
- Consult with experts for prototypes and demonstration projects
- Create data and reports suitable for sustainability reporting
- Display commitments recognized and valued by investors and clients
Sector
alignment
Advocate for alignment across the residential building sector
- Develop approaches for integrating embodied carbon into energy efficiency and green building rating programs
- Standardize approaches and reporting for integrating embodied carbon into incentive programs, regulator needs, and sustainability reporting
- Advocate for the inclusion of embodied carbon performance in financing mechanisms like green mortgages
why focus on embodied carbon?
Emissions from materials for new homes in the United States is equivalent to the total emissions from entire countries (RMI Report 'Hidden Climate Impact of Residential Construction').
0
-
10
kgCO2e/m2
Average Embodied Carbon of New Homes (Cradle to Gate)
0
billion ft2
Square Foot
Built Annually
0
-
10
MtCO2e
Annual Embodied Carbon from New Home Construction
Denmark
0
Bahrain
0
Ireland
0
Entire Country
Emissions
Mt CO2 emissions in 2017
Using less material and choosing materials wisely can significantly reduce the embodied carbon of a home, often without raising costs. Homebuilders can take immediate steps to achieve 30 to 50 percent emissions reductions with commercially available, affordable, and code-compliant building materials and by targeting just a few key material categories: concrete, insulation, cladding, and interior surfaces.
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