Detailed Program

Session 1

Title: Embodied Carbon 101 for Structural Engineers
Length: 60 minutes
Description: Designed for structural engineers but welcoming to all, this session provides a focused introduction to embodied carbon in buildings. Participants will learn how to define and apply foundational concepts, perform a simple life cycle assessment (LCA), and understand the critical components involved in the process. The session will explore the various lifecycle stages relevant to structural systems and explain how structural materials contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Define and apply basic concepts and definitions related to embodied carbon.
2. Define life cycle assessment (LCA) and perform a simple assessment.
3. Explain the key components of performing an LCA
4. Describe the lifecycle stages and modules used for construction works.
5. Explain how cement, steel, and timber emit GHGs.

Session 2

Title: How to Calculate Embodied Carbon
Length: 60 minutes
Description: This session builds on core concepts introduced in Embodied Carbon 101 and focuses on the practical process of quantifying embodied carbon in structural systems. Attendees will learn how to effectively perform material takeoffs and use carbon data to calculate embodied carbon. The session also addresses common challenges, such as data availability, setting system boundaries, and inconsistent benchmarks, equipping participants with strategies to navigate uncertainty and improve the accuracy of their assessments.

Learning Objectives:

1. Calculate the embodied carbon of a structural system.
2. Describe the challenges associated with calculating embodied carbon.

Session 3

Title: Using EC3 and Environmental Product Declarations
Length: 90 minutes
Description: This hands-on session introduces structural engineers to the tools and data sources needed to evaluate embodied carbon in structural materials. Participants will learn how to interpret Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), distinguish between types of EPD, and access carbon data from EPDs using the ECOM tool and the EC3 platform. The session will also guide participants through building a digital model in EC3 to match EPDs with material quantities, enabling more informed decision-making early in design.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the different types of EPDs (industry average, product-specific, facility-specific).
2. Interpret an EPD.
3. Use the ECOM tool to access industry average EPDs for structural materials.
4. Use EC3 to access, search, and sort through a large library of North American EPDs.
5. Use EC3 to build a full building model to match EPDs with material quantities.

Session 4

Title: Embodied Carbon Workflows
Length: 90 minutes
Description: Effective embodied carbon reduction requires more than calculations; it requires workflow integration. This session explores how structural engineers can embed carbon awareness into the design and construction process. Participants will learn how to set reduction targets, establish baselines, communicate strategies with clients, and coordinate efforts across the design team and contractors. Real-world insights will help attendees navigate common barriers and drive collaborative action on carbon goals.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the importance of setting clear targets for embodied carbon reduction.
2. Learn effective communication strategies for discussing embodied carbon with clients.
3. Explore methods for establishing an initial baseline of embodied carbon in a project.
4. Discover practical reduction strategies to minimize embodied carbon.
5. Gain insights into engaging design team and general contractor teams in embodied carbon workflows and how to navigate typical challenges.

Session 5

Title: Design Strategies to Reduce Embodied Carbon
Length: 60 minutes
Description: Once carbon is measured, how can it be reduced? This session focuses on practical structural design strategies to minimize embodied carbon. Engineers will examine high-impact approaches across materials, systems, and detailing, and learn to estimate the relative effectiveness of various techniques. The session also highlights emerging low-carbon technologies that may shape the future of structural design.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe structural embodied carbon reduction strategies.
2. Quantify rough relative magnitude of potential strategies.
3. Explain at a high-level potential novel low carbon technologies being developed.

Session 6

Title: Reductions through Specifications
Length: 30 minutes
Description: Specifications are a powerful lever for reducing the embodied carbon of structural systems. This session will help structural engineers translate carbon goals into clear, actionable specs. Participants will learn best practices for engaging construction teams, setting performance-based requirements for concrete, understanding low-carbon steel procurement, and writing effective wood specifications. The session emphasizes real-world applicability and coordination with project partners.

Learning Objectives:

1. Outline best practices for construction team engagement.
2. Establish performance-based specifications for concrete.
3. Understand implications of low-carbon steel procurement.
4. Gain an understanding of best practices for wood specifications.

Session 7

Title: Policy: What do Structural Engineers Need to Know?
Length: 30 minutes
Description: Embodied carbon policy is evolving fast. This session helps structural engineers stay ahead of the curve. Participants will gain an overview of current and emerging policies, including Buy Clean and WBLCA requirements, and how these affect structural design and material procurement. The session will also explore how engineers can get involved in shaping policy and why their engagement and leadership is critical to driving industry-wide impact.

Learning Objectives:

1. Gain an awareness of the variety of embodied carbon policies rapidly emerging at federal, state, and local levels.
2. Understand the differences between Buy Clean, WBLCA, and other policies.
3. Understand how these policies vary in their effect on the design, specification, and procurement of structural materials on projects.
4. Learn how to get engaged with existing groups to take policy action and why doing so is important.

Session 8

Title: Using the SEI Prestandard to Assess Embodied Carbon
Length: 120 minutes
Description: This session introduces structural engineers to the SEI prestandard for embodied carbon assessment. Participants will learn how to apply the tiered framework presented in the prestandard to calculate and report carbon emissions consistently across projects. The session will provide practical guidance on integrating the prestandard into practice, enhancing alignment with policy, clients, and industry benchmarks.
Learning Objectives:

1. Use the prestandard to calculate embodied carbon
   
   

Session 9

Title: Comparing the Embodied Carbon of Structural Systems
Length: 60 minutes
Description: This session introduces the concept of a functional unit and applies it to making comparisons of structural systems. Participants will learn how to use the SEI prestandard to make robust comparisons of typical bays and entire structural systems and consider the role uncertainty plays in early-stage design decisions. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Define a functional unit for a structural system.
2. Critique a typical bay analysis used for making system comparisons.
3. Describe how uncertainty influences decision making.
4. Use the prestandard to compare structural systems
   
   

Title: The SE 2050 Commitment Program

Length: 30 minutes
Speaker: Ebiji Akah, PE
Description: Put what you’ve learned into action through the Structural Engineers 2050 Commitment Program. This session will provide an overview of the commitment program and share a first-hand experience for what it means to be a signatory firm and the embodied carbon champion role.

Instructor

Jay Arehart, PhD

Dr. Jay Arehart is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. His teaching and research focuses on reducing embodied carbon and the design of sustainable buildings. As a past co-chair of the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) Sustainability Committee, Jay is the lead author of an SEI Prestandard for assessing the embodied carbon of structural systems. In addition to his leadership within the profession, Jay is a co-founder and Chief Product Officer of a startup, Preoptima, that develops software for building designers and local government to effectively assess the whole-life carbon of buildings.