Embodied carbon is the greenhouse gas emissions from resource extraction, manufacture, transport, installation, maintenance, disposal and recovery of construction materials. Embodied carbon of building materials is a significant contributor to Oregon's greenhouse gas emissions – accounting for 14.4% of
Oregon's consumption-based emissions.
Embodied carbon in building codesDEQ provided consultation to the Oregon Building Codes Division in development of their legislative report, Options to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Attributable To Building Materials. This work was directed by the legislature through
House Bill 3409, Section 7.
Low-embodied carbon housing
Currently, the $197 million EPA awarded to support 12 measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, buildings and waste materials, is frozen and the agency cannot access the funds. This program is an important part of DEQ's work to restore, maintain and enhance the quality of Oregon's air, land and water. We will continue our work at the state level while monitoring federal grant accounts to see if funds awarded under the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law become accessible.
DEQ has received $25.6 million to support low-embodied carbon housing. This program is one measure (Measure 10) of
Oregon's Climate Equity and Resilience Through Action Grant which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, housing, transportation, and waste, while providing benefits to surrounding communities. The money was awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant under the
Inflation Reduction Act.
The program will support the development of 940 new lower-embodied carbon housing units in 9 communities across the state while reducing greenhouse gas emissions an estimated 343,487 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050. Low-embodied carbon strategies include reuse and conversion of existing vacant or underutilized buildings to housing, building more space-efficient housing, and use of lower-embodied carbon construction materials.
To learn more about the low-embodied carbon strategies, see
DEQ's report on Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Caused by Oregon's Consumption.
Environmental product declarations
Environmental product declarations are third-party verified documents that report the environmental impacts of a product based on a life cycle assessment of that product. Think of them like a nutrition label for building materials.
The Built Environment program has worked collaboratively with industry and local governments for many years to address the embodied carbon of concrete. The program collaborated with the Oregon Concrete and Aggregate Producers Association to develop a
voluntary program for concrete producers to develop environmental product declarations for their concrete mixes. Over the three years this program was active, over 1500 EPDs were produced.
Currently, the $3.8 million EPA awarded to DEQ to support the development of environmental product declarations is under review and not yet contracted. This program is an important part of DEQ's work to restore, maintain and enhance the quality of Oregon's air, land and water. We will continue our work at the state level while monitoring federal grant accounts to see if funds awarded under the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law become accessible.
In partnership with the International Code Council and Washington Department of Commerce, DEQ has received $3.8 million to support the development of environmental product declarations in the region. This program will support the development of over 1000 environmental product declarations for concrete, steel, asphalt, wood, and other emerging materials, as well as the development of an EPD tool for wood products. The money was awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency under the
Inflation Reduction Act.