Carbon Regulations On The Rise: Are You Ready?

The era of measuring, reducing, and reporting carbon emissions from building materials and construction is here. We can help you navigate this uncharted territory.

The regulation of embodied and operational carbon emissions from homes and buildings in the U.S. is about to explode as states and municipalities implement policies to meet 2030 climate goals. 

Examples of cities that have set aggressive zero carbon targets by 2030 include:

• Aspen, Colorado: Aspen has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, focusing on renewable energy adoption and energy efficiency improvements.
• Burlington, Vermont: Burlington aims to reach net-zero energy consumption across all sectors by 2030, emphasizing renewable energy and efficiency measures.
• Madison, Wisconsin: Madison has set a goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, with plans to transition to 100% renewable energy sources.
• San Francisco, California: San Francisco has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, focusing on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable transportation.
• Santa Monica, California: Santa Monica aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2030, implementing strategies in renewable energy, building efficiency, and transportation.

Other cities with strong emissions reduction goals include:

• New York City: Aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% from 2005 levels by 2030. 
• San Diego, California: Plans to cut emissions by 50% and source all energy from renewable sources by 2035. 
• Washington, D.C.: Plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2032 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. 
• Boston, Massachusetts: Has targeted a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 and is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050. 
• Seattle, Washington: Intends to become carbon neutral by 2050, with significant reductions by 2030. 
• Los Angeles, California: Plans to reduce emissions by 50% by 2025 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. 
• Houston, Texas: Aims to reduce emissions by 40% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. 

Embodied Carbon Regulations: A New Era for Building Sector

As these municipalities inch closer to 2030 and their stated climate goals, they’re exploring a variety of codes, regulations, and policies that will translate into a new level of scrutiny for builders and developers.  

Always on the leading edge, California recently implemented one of the most ambitious embodied carbon regulations in the U.S., mandating the disclosure and reduction of embodied carbon for all commercial buildings over 100,000 square feet. 

This regulation affects around 45% of California’s commercial real estate market and is projected to cut carbon emissions by approximately 6 million metric tons annually by 2030.  While these regulations are focused on commercial buildings for now, they’re inevitably going to make their way into the residential sector.

Furthermore, California will enforce carbon data disclosure in 2025 for businesses with over $1 billion in annual revenue, including Scope 3 emissions by 2026. These Scope 3 emissions, which include embodied carbon from building materials, represent an often-overlooked yet significant portion of the carbon footprint for real estate portfolios—accounting for up to 50% of total emissions for some companies.

Other states, like Massachusetts, Colorado, New York, and New Jersey are considering similar mandates to address carbon emissions.

Because of these emerging regulations, new risks will materialize for stakeholders throughout the building industry, such as non-compliance fines, permitting delays, and reputational damage. 

Yet, many builders and developers still lack the tools to measure, let alone mitigate, embodied carbon, underscoring the need for enhanced carbon accounting tools that evolve alongside new mandates that can provide real-time insights.

Fortunately, such tools are being developed, such as a new ANSI standard, 1550, titled "Standard for the Calculation and Labeling of the Embodied Environmental Impacts of Dwelling Units Using the Environmental Performance Index.”  

This standard will define the scope for calculating embodied carbon and provide a methodology for conducting calculations for residential projects.  The standard is currently under development and is expected to be released sometime in 2025.

Carbon Resources

If you’re interested in learning more about the quickly evolving landscape of embodied and operational carbon, associated risks, and emerging codes and regulations, Green Builder Media has you covered!

We have many blogs and webinars on our website about constructing net zero carbon homes, measuring carbon, specifying low carbon products, emerging carbon requirements, and abating emissions through the purchase of high quality carbon offsets.

We also invite you to join us for two upcoming webinars:

1. Reduce, Offset, Repeat: The Path to Carbon Neutrality on Wednesday, November 13^th at 2 PM ET.  In this webinar, I’ll have a conversation with Mark Chen, CEO of CNaught, to explore what carbon offsets are, how they work, and the essential role that they’ll play in reaching a net zero carbon built environment. 
2. Minimizing Embodied Carbon on Wednesday, November 20^th at 2 PM ET.  In this webinar, building industry influencer Gene Myers, Sustainability Director at Thrive Home Builders, will share his extensive experience on the front lines of both zero energy ready homes and implementation of embodied carbon reduction strategies.  He’ll offer practical, scalable solutions to reduce embodied carbon in residential construction projects. 

For anyone interested in learning more about zero carbon building, I encourage you to enroll in Green Builder Media’s COGNITION Academy, which has robust courses on net zero carbon building, green building fundamentals, green product essentials and green building program like ENERGY STAR, Zero Energy Ready Homes, Indoor airPLUS, WaterSense, and HERS ratings.   

And, be sure  to check out the COGNITION Carbon Offsets Marketplace if you’re interested in purchasing carbon offsets to mitigate emissions from your products, projects or lifestyle.