Embodied Carbon 101: Structure
Included in subscription
Description
Structure accounts for a significant portion of a project’s embodied carbon. In this course, a panel of structural engineers and researchers discusses the positives and negatives, with regard to embodied carbon, of using concrete, steel, and timber each as primary structural materials. Panelists share ways to reduce and measure the embodied carbon impacts of each structure material–-through material makeup and specification, material reduction, material sourcing, and reuse.
Course expires 11/14/2026
Learning Objectives
Identify the factors that determine the embodied environmental impact of concrete and implement strategies to reduce the impact.
Employ holistic design strategies for low embodied carbon or carbon positive structural systems using timber and mass timber.
Appraise the embodied carbon impacts of steel structural systems related to steel production, reuse, and reduction.
Compare and contrast the environmental impacts of single-material and hybrid structural systems for a project.
As a Sustainability Leader at HMFH, Suni has quickly established herself as an in-house resource and champion for the integration of social, environmental, and economically sustainable solutions to design challenges of all sizes. She advocates for equitable access to architecture and has enjoyed working on educational projects throughout her career.
Jeremy Gregory is a research scientist in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT and the Executive Director of the Concrete Sustainability Hub.
Michael is an associate at LeMessurier, a structural engineering firm based in Boston, and serves as chair of the SEI (ASCE-Structural Engineering Institute) SE 2050 Committee, which is developing a national SE 2050 Commitment Program to promote net zero carbon structural systems by 2050 and provide quantitative tracking demonstrating progress to that goal.
Chris O'Hara PE, SECB is a Founding Principal of Studio NYL, a Colorado-based structural engineering and facade design studio with offices in Boston and Minneapolis. Chris and Studio NYL are members of the Carbon Leadership Forum and signatories to the Structural Engineering Institute’s 2050 Challenge and the AIA's 2030 Challenge.