In the first of a series on sustainability strategies of the future, IMEG Director of Sustainability Adam McMillen discusses embodied carbon. “We have pretty much figured out how to reduce operational carbon,” he says. “Now the AEC industry is ready for the next step — reducing embodied carbon in steel, concrete, and wood.” Getting these materials to a construction site requires extraction or harvesting, processing, and transportation — each of which requires energy, mostly from burning fossil fuels, which in turn releases CO₂. These emissions combined make up the carbon footprint, or the embodied carbon, of a material. “People in the industry and elsewhere are really starting to get it,” says McMillen, who counts Bill Gates and Wisconsin Girl Scouts among those who are helping to spread the word. Learn more in this 15-minute podcast.

Also in this series:

• “The Chiller Reality: Your MEP Equipment is Full of Embodied Carbon”
• “Cold Climate Electrification: A Path Toward ‘Clean’ Heating”
• “Call in the Reserves: Thermal Energy Storage to the Rescue”
• “Battery Storage: Clean Energy for a Rainy Day — and Peak Demand Relief”
• “Five Steps to Begin the Process of Decarbonizing Your Building”