Decarbonize Now!

Laura Karnath, a senior associate and senior enclosure technical designer at Walter P Moore, and Sophie Pennetier, associate director, special projects at Enclos, address the issue of embodied carbon emissions in architectural glass in the Spring 2022 issue of Intelligent Glass Solutions. The article delves into the two types of building-related carbon emissions: operational and embodied carbon, with embodied carbon emissions being the emissions associated with building materials and construction. The article emphasizes the need to reduce and eventually eliminate embodied carbon emissions associated with the production of facade materials, including glass, aluminum, gaskets, and sealants. The authors suggest that supply chain decarbonization is the next frontier of innovation in architectural glass. The article also highlights how manufacturing processes, power sources, and transportation contribute to embodied carbon emissions. The authors suggest that sourcing materials from low-carbon manufacturers seems ideal, but is not yet available at scale and that design and construction teams will have to explore other options for carbon reduction while these technologies are scaling up.