Embodied Carbon 101: Building Materials - RMI

This fact sheet by RMI explains the concept of embodied carbon in building materials, detailing how it is calculated, strategies for its reduction, and the role of policy and industry in decarbonizing construction.

• Embodied carbon refers to the greenhouse gas emissions released throughout the entire lifecycle of building materials—including extraction, manufacturing, transport, construction, and disposal—and accounts for 11 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• Embodied carbon is quantified as global warming potential (GWP) in carbon dioxide equivalent units (CO2e) using life cycle assessments (LCA). These results are disclosed via Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which act as "nutrition labels" reporting impacts such as acidification, eutrophication, ozone depletion, and smog formation.
• Strategies to reduce embodied carbon include using recycled or reclaimed materials, optimized design for durability and deconstructability, and carbon-storing plant-based materials like wood, hemp, straw, bamboo, and algae. Specific innovations include 3D printing and robotic automation, and a new cement developed by Fortera that reduces CO2 emissions by over 60 percent per ton of cement replaced.
• In the United States, the federal government is the largest purchaser of construction materials. RMI estimates that adopting whole-project emissions standards could reduce GHG emissions by a cumulative 17 million tons of CO2 by 2050. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides nearly $10 billion for reducing embodied carbon impacts and $250 million for an EPD Assistance Program.
• State-level action includes 'Buy Clean' laws in California, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, and Oregon. Additionally, a 2021 RMI report found that low-cost and no-cost embodied carbon solutions could reduce emissions by 19 to 46 percent with cost premiums of less than 1 percent.

APA

RMI (2023). Embodied Carbon 101: Building Materials - RMI. https://rmi.org/resources/embodied-carbon-101/

Chicago

RMI. Embodied Carbon 101: Building Materials - RMI. 2023. https://rmi.org/resources/embodied-carbon-101/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Embodied Carbon 101: Building Materials - RMI |date=27 March 2023 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/embodied-carbon-101/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2023embodied, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Embodied Carbon 101: Building Materials - RMI}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/embodied-carbon-101/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }