Resources Listing
Reports, toolkits and other resources to support climate action by local governments.
All resources are available to the public and may be published here or linked to the original source.
Policy Primer: Regulating Embodied Emissions of Buildings
The primer includes background information on embodied emissions (also called embodied carbon), benchmarks from 41 large buildings across Ontario, proposed reduction targets, and policy recommendations with sample language and reporting templates. It also notes several knowledge gaps and barriers the industry will need to overcome to effectively reduce embodied emissions in the years ahead – reductions needed to meet our climate targets. The topics covered can generally be applied to most buildings and/or infrastructure projects, however the specific focus of the report is related to large-scale “Part-3” buildings in Ontario.
Green Buildings Policy
The City of Vancouver’s Green Building Policy introduces requirements to report embodied emissions associated with the construction of a building via a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Starting in July 2023, they will introduce an embodied carbon reporting requirement for all new Part 3 buildings, and a limit of maximum 2x the standardized baseline.
City of Langford’s Low Carbon Concrete Policy Announcement
News release from November 2021, when the City of Langford became the first jurisdiction in Canada to adopt a low-carbon concrete policy.
Big Move 4: Build Zero Emission Buildings
The Resort Municipality of Whistler has set a target to have all new buildings achieve the top step in B.C.’s Energy Step Code, use only low-carbon heating systems, and reduce embodied carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2030.
Embodied Carbon Pilot
How can we estimate embodied carbon in buildings to achieve GHG emissions reduction targets? This project identifies challenges and solutions for enabling more effective use of life cycle assessment (LCA) and benchmarking to drive embodied emission cutbacks.