October 23, 2024

Announcing an expansion of the Embodied Carbon Pathfinder

Explore embodied carbon implications of different building design variables with the latest version of a unique visualization tool.

The Embodied Carbon Pathfinder is a free web app for quickly estimating cradle-to-grave indirect carbon impacts for archetype buildings. The web app was first launched in March 2022 with only one region (Metro Vancouver, Canada) and only three building types (three different multifamily housing archetypes). It has been expanded with another region (the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Canada) and five more building types.

The tool uses results from parametric life cycle assessment (LCA) of the eight building archetypes and all reasonable combinations of design variables for each one. Millions of pre-calculated data points in the background allow users to find “pathways” through design choices to land on a target embodied carbon result.

Embodied Carbon Pathfinder is an introductory LCA-based educational tool. It can also be useful for rough estimates in early design, when a custom life cycle assessment (LCA) study may not yet be feasible. For more project-specific results, a custom whole-building LCA would be required. Funding for this expansion was provided by The Atmospheric Fund and the Peter Gilgan Foundation. The Athena Institute facilitated this project in collaboration with Morrison Hershfield (now Stantec), OPEN Technologies, and Mantle Developments.

Check out the tool at: https://www.buildingpathfinder.com

Watch the recorded launch event here, on the Athena Institute YouTube channel https://youtu.be/NVxvvtcSPMI