We coordinate events that
empower industry professionals to
radically reduce embodied carbon
from buildings and infrastructure
CLF Alberta
CLF Alberta is a local hub of the Carbon Leadership Forum. We coordinate local events that empower industry professionals to radically reduce embodied carbon from buildings and infrastructure.
A diverse mix of professionals joins our events, including architects, engineers, contractors, sustainability consultants, material suppliers, building owners, and policymakers. Our events include informative presentations and interactive group discussions that address a range of topics relating to embodied carbon. We aim to build up local industry capacity to design and construct buildings and infrastructure that radically reduce embodied carbon.
CLF Alberta is connected to the larger global network of the Carbon Leadership Forum, which brings together 5000+ professionals from 2500+ companies, 75+ countries, and 1000+ cities around the world.
Sign up for our mailing list to learn about upcoming events, and become a member of the Carbon Leadership Forum to join the online discussion with the global CLF community.
CLF Alberta wishes to acknowledge the traditional homeland of the many diverse First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people whose elders have walked this land before us and those persons of whom we share this great land with today. We are grateful to work and live upon this territory together and for the means to learn from all of the traditional peoples of these lands as we move forward together in reconciliation.
What is CLF?
The Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) is accelerating the transformation of the building sector to radically reduce the embodied carbon in building materials and construction through collective action.
CLF pioneers research, creates resources, fosters cross-collaboration, and incubates member-led initiatives to bring embodied carbon emissions of buildings down to zero.
The CLF network is made up of architects, engineers, contractors, material suppliers, building owners, and policymakers who care about the future and are taking bold steps to decarbonize the built environment, with a keen focus on eliminating embodied carbon from buildings and infrastructure.
Currently, the network brings together 5000+ professionals from 2500+ companies, 75+ countries, and 1000+ cities around the world
Join the Online
CLF Community
The CLF Community online platform brings together thousands of professionals from across the building industry, from over 30 countries and 100 cities around the world.
As a member, you can interact with a global network of interdisciplinary experts, where you can post questions, find resources, connect with local hubs, join focus groups, to keep track of upcoming events.
To join the CLF Community online platform, become a member of CLF and and opt-in to join the online community when joining.
Past Regional Hub Events
Past Presentation Videos
Scale of Embodied Carbon Emissions
Globally, the building and construction sectors account for nearly 40% of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in constructing and operating buildings (including the impacts of upstream power generation). Current building codes address operating energy but do not typically address the impacts ‘embodied’ in building materials and products. However, more than half of all GHG emissions are related to materials management (including material extraction and manufacturing) when aggregated across industrial sectors. As building operations become more efficient, these embodied impacts related to producing building materials become increasingly significant.
Significance of Embodied Carbon
Between now and 2060 the world’s population will be doubling the amount of building floor-space, equivalent to building an entire New York City every month for 40 years. Much of the carbon footprint of these new buildings will take the form of embodied carbon — the emissions associated with building material manufacturing and construction.
Embodied carbon will be responsible for almost half of the total new construction emissions between now and 2050.
Unlike operational carbon emissions, which can be reduced over time with building energy efficiency renovations and the use of renewable energy, embodied carbon emissions have irreversibly entered the atmosphere as soon as a building is built.
City of Vancouver
Embodied Carbon Policy
Since 2017, the City of Vancouver's Green Building Policy for Rezoning (Requirement B.6.2) has required calculation and disclosure of LCA results in early design for rezoning submissions, which needs to be updated for Building Permit and Occupancy Permit.
This rezoning policy will be updated in 2021 and will likely require a certain level of reduction in embodied carbon.
As part of the City's Climate Emergency Response, it has created one of the most ambitious embodied carbon policy targets set by any city in North America.
By 2030, the embodied emissions in new buildings and construction projects will be reduced by 40% compared to a 2018 baseline
Certification Systems that Address Embodied Carbon
Through the MRc1: Building Life-Cycle Impact Reduction credit, projects can receive 1 LEED point just for performing an LCA study and up to 5 points for a 20% reduction in embodied carbon relative to a baseline building.
Requires calculating embodied carbon emissions through an LCA study starting at the Schematic Design phase. Also required to apply two "Impact and Innovation" strategies. 2 of the 5 pre-approved strategies are:
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An embodied carbon reduction of at least 20% compared to a baseline building.
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Upfront carbon emissions equal to or less than zero.
In ZCB Performance v2, embodied emissions are required to be offset.
ILFI Zero Carbon Certification
Projects must demonstrate a 10% reduction in embodied carbon and not exceed 500 kgCO2e/m2, with remaining embodied emissions offset through an approved carbon offset provider.
ILFI Living Building Challenge - Energy Petal
Projects must demonstrate a 20% reduction in embodied carbon, with remaining embodied emissions offset through an approved carbon offset provider.
Gallery from Past Events
Meet Our Team
Kristin Tollovsen
Manager - Sustainability
and Social Purpose
Centurion
Connie Yuen
Innovation Manager
Ready Mix, Western Canada
Lafarge Canada Inc.
Christina Michayluk
Project Manager,
Sustainability Specialist
Footprint
Andrea Linsky
Engineering Project Manager
City of Edmonton
Mehdi Zahed
Kristin Tollovsen
Ignacio Cariaga