Embodied Carbon Policy Development in the Upper Midwest

Abstract

Embodied carbon considerations and requirements have been included in the Minnesota Sustainable Building Guidelines (B3) for over twenty years. Initially, the program focused on collecting whole building life cycle assessments to build a data set for determining future standards. As operational carbon emissions are approaching net zero by 2030, the carbon emissions from construction become more important. Therefore, the program is evolving to include a unique approach to embodied carbon that integrates whole building life cycle
assessments in the predesign phase and collecting Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for concrete, steel, rebar, asphalt, and other materials during the construction phase. These materials must comply with embodied carbon limits anticipated between 2026-2028 as part of Minnesota’s Buy Clean legislation, which applies to vertical (building) sector material procurement and horizontal (road and bridge) construction. The guidelines include input from government, universities, industry, and non-profit organizations. The process and outcomes can serve as a model for making the business case to scale up low embodied carbon construction in the Upper Midwest.