Skanska USA Building Expands Embodied Carbon Assessments to Projects Nationwide

SEATTLE /PRNewswire/ — Skanska USA Building will invest in providing initial embodied carbon assessments on every new construction project over 5,000m3 (53,000sf) using the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3), a product co-created by Skanska with industry partners. Since 2019, Skanska USA Building has been piloting EC3 in partnership with Skanska Commercial Development in the United States. This announcement expands on the success of this pilot initiative.

“The data and tools provided by Skanska’s evaluations provide customers with actionable information to make significant and lasting choices about reducing carbon on their projects. Customers have the power to positively affect the supply chain if they choose to invest in full or partial materials tracking and reporting,” said Paul Hewins, President & CEO, Skanska USA Building.

Use of the EC3 tool over the last two years has shown that a 30% reduction in embodied carbon is typically achievable for little or no cost. Recently Skanska partnered with the Rocky Mountain Institute on a study that produced similar results. EC3 is available free and open source at www.buildingtransparency.org.

The built environment accounts for nearly 40% of annual carbon emissions worldwide. Embodied carbon encompasses the extraction, transportation and manufacture of materials that go into the finished project, whereas operational carbon includes the fuel and electricity use during the building’s lifetime. While buildings can continually improve operational efficiency, decisions associated with embodied carbon are permanent, making sustainable choices in the project design and planning stage vital.

“Investing in lifecycle carbon assessments for projects of this size is further evidence of Skanska’s industry-leading commitment, thought leadership and absolute carbon reduction innovations,” added Hewins.

Skanska’s commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in its operations and value chain by 2045 is well known. The company recently announced acceleration of its intermediate carbon goals which have now been certified by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI). These assessments are also a proactive step to comply with the EU Taxonomy, a comprehensive analysis of sustainable business practices used by governments and investors.