Standard on Embodied Carbon in Construction

The objective of this standard is to establish requirements to disclose and reduce the embodied carbon footprint of construction projects in accordance with the commitments in the Greening Government Strategy.
Date modified: 2022-11-14

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1. Preamble

  • 1.1

    This standard is issued pursuant to the same authorities indicated in section 4 of the Policy on Green Procurement, and is consistent with the Policy on the Planning and Management of Investments and the Directive on the Management of Procurement.

    Embodied carbon forms a significant proportion of the whole life carbon emissions from construction projects. This standard sets minimum requirements for the procurement of design and construction services to disclose and reduce the embodied carbon of major construction projects. Major construction projects typically include the renovation or new construction of buildings or engineering assets.

    The objective of this standard is to establish requirements to disclose and reduce the embodied carbon footprint of construction projects in accordance with the commitments in the Greening Government Strategy.

2. Effective date

  • 2.1This standard takes effect on December 31, 2022.
  • 2.2Procurements commenced after the effective date are required to apply this standard.

3. Standards

  • 3.1This standard provides details on the requirements set out in subsections 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3 of the Policy on Green Procurement and the commitments in the Greening Government Strategy.
  • 3.2

    Organizations described in section 3 of the Policy on Green Procurement must:

    • 3.2.1Adhere to Appendix A, which sets out specific conditions, including effective dates, project value thresholds and reduction targets, in relation to the disclosure of and reductions in the embodied carbon footprint of construction projects;
    • 3.2.2

      Include the following requirements in the procurement of design services:

      • 3.2.2.1Disclose the carbon footprint of structural materials in accordance with Appendix A;
      • 3.2.2.2Reduce the carbon footprint of structural materials in accordance with Appendix A;
      • 3.2.2.3Ensure that structural materials are specified by a professional engineer registered or licensed in the province or territory where the project will be implemented; and
      • 3.2.2.4Review the completed Embodied Carbon Disclosure Template (refer to Appendix B) before project completion to ensure compliance with subsections 3.2.2.1 and 3.2.2.2 of this standard;
    • 3.2.3

      Include the following requirements in the procurement of construction services:

      • 3.2.3.1Ensure that the Embodied Carbon Disclosure Template (refer to Appendix B) is secured by the organization before project completion, and that it lists the required information for each type of material identified in Appendix A;
      • 3.2.3.2

        Disclose the embodied carbon footprint of structural materials measured in global warming potential (GWP) with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) that:

        • 3.2.3.2.1Reference the material supplier’s name or professional association as a contributor;
        • 3.2.3.2.2Comply with international standards noted in Appendix A within the period of validity; and
        • 3.2.3.2.3Are produced using the highest available resolution life cycle inventory (LCI) data as noted in Appendix A;
      • 3.2.3.3Where EPDs are not readily available, provide a life cycle assessment (LCA) report that complies with international standards (International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14044, ISO 14025, and ISO 21930 or equivalent) and that is verified by an LCA reviewer as such a report is considered an acceptable equivalent form of disclosure; and
    • 3.2.4Submit to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, at the time of the annual call letter of the Greening Government Strategy, a consolidated report that details the embodied carbon footprint for all construction projects completed in the previous fiscal year that meet or exceed the thresholds identified in Appendix A. This information may be used for other reporting obligations under the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy.

4. Application

  • 4.1

    This standard applies to:

    • 4.1.1Organizations described in section 3 of the Policy on Green Procurement; and
    • 4.1.2Any new construction or renovation of real property in Canada at or above the thresholds listed in Appendix A at the time of solicitation of design services.
  • 4.2

    This standard does not apply:

    • 4.2.1If the specified quantities of a structural material are below the minimum quantity threshold, or the project value is below the minimum threshold, as identified in Appendix A; or
    • 4.2.2If the project is in a geographic area excluded from a requirement, as identified in Appendix A.
  • 4.3Subsection 3.2.2.2 of this standard may not apply to a project if the required performance of a structural material hinders the implementation of the subsection or if a material is not available in a given region. If subsection 3.2.2.2 does not apply, an exemption rationale must be secured (refer to Appendix C). Projects exempt from subsection 3.2.2.2 must still disclose the embodied carbon of structural materials in accordance with subsection 3.2.2.1 of this standard, and reduce their embodied carbon to the greatest extent feasible.

5. References

6. Enquiries

  • 6.1Direct enquiries about this standard to your organization’s headquarters. For interpretation of this standard, organizational headquarters should contact Greening-Vert@tbs-sct.gc.ca.

Appendix A: Schedule of Structural Materials and Carbon Footprint Requirements

This schedule forms part of the requirement for the disclosure of and reduction in the carbon footprint of structural materials.

Table 1 Notes

Table 1 Note 1

A structural material may be exempt from the requirement if, once a Class A estimate of material quantities is complete, the estimated quantity of that structural material is below the minimum quantity threshold noted here.

Return to table 1 note 1 referrer

Table 1 Note 2

All EPDs must be ISO 14025:2006 Type III and ISO 21930:2017 compliant unless noted here.

Return to table 1 note 2 referrer

Material category

Concrete
Material subcategory

Ready mix
For projects or programs at or above

$10 million where design services are solicited on or after December 31, 2022.

$5 million where design services are solicited after December 31, 2024.
Minimum material quantitytable 1 note 1

100 m3 (sum of all mixes used)
Minimum resolution for disclosure requirement

The highest-resolution Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) available must be used to source the global warming potential (GWP) for each mix used in the project (for example, product-specific, regional average, in that order) 
Greenhouse gas reduction requirement

For design services solicited on or after December 31, 2022, the embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of procured ready-mix concrete shall be disclosed on a project basis and be substantiated with EPDs in accordance with the Standard on Embodied Carbon in Construction.

Project GHG emissions from ready-mix concrete are the sum of GHG emissions from all mixes used, calculated using the global warming potentials (GWPs) and volumes of each mix placed. The total project GHG emissions from ready-mix concrete shall be at least 10% less than those calculated using the GWPs of the baseline mix in the Regional Industry Average Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the strength class of each mix and the volume of mix placed (see equations 1 and 2). The Embodied Carbon Disclosure Template must be used to demonstrate this outcome.

Equation 1
Text version below:
Figure 1 - Text version

The greenhouse gas emissions reduction of a project is equal to its carbon dioxide equivalent baseline emissions minus its carbon dioxide equivalent project emissions.

Equation 2
Text version below:
Figure 2 - Text version

The percentage greenhouse gas reduction of a project is equal to its greenhouse gas emissions reduction multiplied by one hundred and divided by the project’s carbon dioxide equivalent baseline.

Where:

Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) baseline represents the emissions calculated by the volumes of all the mixes used in the project multiplied by their regional average GWP as represented by:

Text version below:
Figure 3 - Text version

The carbon dioxide equivalent baseline emissions equal the sum of each concrete mix’s volume multiplied by its baseline global warming potential.

CO2e project represents the emissions from the concrete used in the project calculated by the volumes of all the mixes used in the project multiplied by their GWP as represented by:

Text version below:
Figure 4 - Text version

The carbon dioxide equivalent project emissions equal the sum of each concrete mix’s volume multiplied by its actual global warming potential

n = the total number of concrete mixes used in the project

Vol n = the volume of mix n (concrete to be placed)

GWPn = the global warming potential of mix n

BaseGWPn = the global warming potential of the regional baseline mix taken from the Regional Industry Average EPD for the strength class of mix n

Special application requirements

Where a specialized concrete mix is required for high early strength, high or ultra-high performance, or cold-weather application, the benchmark BaseGWP used for that mix shall be 130% of the baseline mix in the Regional Industry Average EPD for that strength class.

Where a lower volume of higher-strength concrete can be substituted for a standard concrete without the addition of other structural materials (for example, additional reinforcing steel), this volume and its associated GWP should be used in the CO2e project calculation while the initial volume and GWP of the standard mix should be used to calculate the CO2e baseline.
Environmental Product Declaration Product Category Rule

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) must follow the current versions of NSF International’s Product Category Rule (PCR) for Concrete and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14025 Type III.
Standards for Environmental Product Declarationtable 1 note 2

Type II EPDs conforming to ISO 14021:2016 and ISO 21930:2017 may be used to substantiate the global warming potential (GWP) of materials used in a project if the Type II EPDs provide higher resolution than the available Type III EPDs and if the Type II EPDs were created using an independently verified tool.

Where carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies are used to reduce the GWP of a portion or all concrete supplied to a project, such as through carbon mineralization, a product-specific EPD shall be provided to substantiate the associated reduction in GHG emissions.
Geographic area exemptions

Projects located in the Yukon, Nunavut or the Northwest Territories are exempt from the Standard on Embodied Carbon in Construction as it relates to ready-mix concrete due to the limited availability of low-carbon options. Organizations should encourage designers of major construction projects in the northern territories to specify low-carbon concrete where available.

Appendix B: Information for the Embodied Carbon Project Disclosure Template

The Embodied Carbon Project Disclosure Template must be completed for every applicable project to demonstrate that the requirements of the standard were met. The completed template is to be secured by the organization before project completion. The following information must be provided as part of completing the template.

Project Overview

The following project information must be included when completing an Embodied Carbon Project Disclosure Template.

  • Name of client organization
  • Name of client project
  • Client project number
  • Government of Canada Directory of Federal Real Property (DFRP) identification (if available)
  • Prepared by (name of general contractor)
  • Name of general contactor’s company
  • General contractor’s email
  • General contractor’s phone number
  • Date of preparation by contractor (day-month-year)
  • Reviewed by (name of designer)
  • Name of designer’s company
  • Designer’s email
  • Designer’s phone number
  • Date of review by designer (day-month-year)
  • Project location (street address)
  • Project location (city or town)
  • Project location (province or territory)
  • Asset archetype (for example, bridge, office, lab)
  • Project footprint or building area (m²)
  • Number of floors (if applicable)
  • Project gross floor area (m², if applicable)
  • Anticipated project completion date (day-month-year)
  • Name of material supplier 1
  • Material supplier 1 email
  • Name of material supplier 2
  • Material supplier 2 email
  • Project narrative (designer notes)
Ready-mix concrete used in project Project mix strengths Baseline greenhouse gas (GHG) calculations GHG calculations for project mixes Reductions in GHG emissions
Element of building or structure
(for example, walls, foundation) 		Special application requirement?
(yes or no) 		Reduction in volume of mix (yes or no)
Select yes if the volume of a mix was reduced by increasing its compressive strength without adding other structural materials. 		Compressive strength at 28 days (MPa) Life cycle assessment (LCA) results table number
(from the regional ASTM International Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)) 		Baseline global warming potential (GWP) (kg CO2/m3) per mix
(using equivalent compressive strength from the regional ASTM International EPD) 		Volume (m3) Baseline GHG emissions per mix (tonnes CO2)
based on the baseline GWP and volume 		EPD or mix design reference number for the mix provided
(from the supplier’s EPD) 		Adjusted volume (m3)
Enter an adjusted volume only when “Yes” is selected under Reduction in volume (third column from the left under Ready-mix concrete used in project). 		GWP (kg CO2/m3) of the mix provided
(from the supplier’s EPD) 		GHG emissions per mix provided
(tonnes CO2) 		GHG emissions reduced compared to the baseline per mix provided
(tonnes CO2) 		Percentage reduction in GHG emissions per mix compared to the baseline

Element 1

Yes/No

Yes/No

xx

x

xxx.xx

xxx.x

xxx.xx

x

xxx.x

xxx.xx

xxx.xx

xxx.xx

xx.x

Element 2

Yes/No

Yes/No

xx

x

xxx.xx

xxx.x

xxx.xx

x 

xxx.x

xxx.xx

xxx.xx

xxx.xx

xx.x

Element 3

Yes/No

Yes/No

xx

x

xxx.xx

xxx.x

xxx.xx

x 

xxx.x

xxx.xx

xxx.xx

xxx.xx

xx.x

Element 4

Yes/No

Yes/No

xx

x

xxx.xx

xxx.x

xxx.xx

x 

xxx.x

xxx.xx

xxx.xx

xxx.xx

xx.x

Project totals

N/A

Yes/No

N/A

N/A

N/A

xxxx.x

xxx.xx

N/A

xxxx.x

N/A

xxx.xx

xxxx.xx

xx.x
Reduction in GHG emissions related to the embodied carbon of ready-mix concrete supplied to the project (tonnes)

xxxx.xx

 Percentage reduction in GHG emissions related to the embodied carbon of ready-mix concrete supplied to the project

xx.x

Appendix C: About Exemption Rationales

When an exemption may apply

No exemption may apply for the disclosure of embodied carbon in structural materials as set out in subsection 3.2.2.1 of the Standard on Embodied Carbon in Construction, except as specified in Appendix A.

Subsection 3.2.2.2 of the standard sets out a requirement to reduce a project’s embodied carbon footprint. Exemptions may apply to this requirement because of a project’s performance needs or because the structural materials needed to reduce embodied carbon are not available.

Exempt projects must still reduce the embodied carbon of structural materials used to the greatest extent feasible.

Who can provide an exemption rationale and what must be included

The engineer of record can provide an exemption rationale for a project. The engineer must cite clauses in relevant codes or industry standards or otherwise describe the reason for the exemption. The exemption rationale must be composed using company letterhead, and the engineer must indicate their professional designation and sign the completed rationale.

The following information must also be provided in the exemption rationale:

  • name of federal organization
  • division
  • name of contact
  • title of contact
  • role of the contact in the project
  • name of the project
  • contract number
  • date
  • client approval signature block

Where the completed rationale should be submitted

The completed rationale must be secured by the relevant federal organization.

Where the rationale is stored

The exemption rationale must be signed by the responsible official at the relevant federal organization and kept with the procurement file.

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