New global tool allows benchmarking of embodied carbon

8th Jul 2021

The Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) is a new tool that allows benchmarking and assessment of embodied carbon in construction materials. EC3 utilises building material quantities from construction estimates and/or BIM models and a robust database of digital, third-party verified EPDs. The tool can then be utilised in the design and procurement phases of a construction projects to assess a project’s overall embodied carbon emissions and make better procurement decisions.

Due to demand for the data many EPDs registered with EPD Australasia are already loaded into the tool. EPD owners have the ability to register online and amend administrative information about their company and products.

The usefulness of this tool and the ability to use and compare EPD data for better decision making is the key benefit of this tool. Whilst EPD Australasia is beginning to transition from PDF style marketing EPDs to digital dataset, EPDs input formats are something that we are encouraging our EPD owners and LCA consultants to consider. For example, the EC3 tool is designed to take in EPD data and metadata in “OpenLCA” format. EPDs in this format will be easily and accurately loaded into the EC3 tool for immediate use. Current EPD Australasia EPDs which have been uploaded to EC3 are awaiting manual checks to overcome the formatting issues of transferring data from a static PDF into the tool.

Watch this space for more information over the coming months on the transition to digital dataset EPDs.

The EC3 tool is free to use and can be found here.