A Matter of Perspective
Did you know that perspective was once “discovered”? It always existed, but for centuries, we didn’t know how to represent it. It wasn’t until the early Renaissance that artists like Filippo Brunelleschi unlocked the mathematical principles of perspective to accurately translate three-dimensional reality onto a flat surface.
In many ways, measuring embodied carbon mirrors that same journey. Translating the real-world complexity of buildings, their materials, sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, installation, use and eventual replacement into a model we can measure and analyze is one of the most complex challenges we face today. We rely on layers of abstraction: mathematics, coding, algorithms and databases to simulate multiple iterations and scenarios. And just like perspective, this modeling process is still evolving.
Means and Methods
When my interest in embodied carbon first started to grow, I noticed that most reports emphasized reductions, much like energy savings in energy models. That approach resonated with clients and the commercial real estate industry. But the question quickly became: reductions compared to what?
What is the universal benchmark? Is there an average per square foot? Should it vary by building type? And where were interior finishes in these studies? The truth was: there was no consensus. Defining system boundaries, scopes and baselines was messy and inconsistent. Believe me, we’ve lived through that confusion.
LEED v4 offered a starting point by requiring comparisons to a functionally equivalent baseline of the same size and scope. The Carbon Leadership Forum’s 2019 baseline guidance reinforced this need, while also spotlighting the overlooked impact of interiors. Though structural materials dominate new construction, tenant improvement projects, because of frequent renovations, can rival that impact over time, yet remain largely unsupported by standardized modeling practices.
Faced with these gaps, our team at BEYOND developed a methodology specifically designed for interiors. Like most things that involve calculations, it started with spreadsheets – massive ones. We manually collected data from Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), material take-offs and product specifications to piece together a working model.
At its core, our method revolves around these key principles:
- Real project quantities. Using early design drawings to establish quantities ensures our baseline reflects actual project conditions.
- Transparent baselines. We model the baseline to match the same size and scope as the proposed project.
- Reliable carbon factors. We pull embodied carbon values from sources like industry-wide Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Carbon Leadership Forum baselines, One Click LCA databases and verified third-party studies.
- Dynamic updates. As the design evolves, we continually refine the model from early design through bid documentation and all the way through post-value engineering reviews and construction.
This process helps us identify early opportunities where the biggest reductions can be made. For example, during one project, we discovered that 60% of the project’s embodied carbon stemmed from the carpet selection alone, driving us to prioritize low-carbon carpet options.
Lessons Learned: How Projects Made Them Real
Each project we’ve worked on has been an opportunity to refine our approach and better understand what truly drives embodied carbon reductions. The most important lessons we’ve learned come directly from experience:
For example, on the Lord Abbett project, our team was involved from the schematic design stage, working closely with the designers to specify materials and finishing below industry average values. This early alignment helped avoid last-minute compromises and contributed to the project avoiding over 1500 tons of CO₂e. Early collaboration makes all the difference.
“Less is more,” for many things in life, including embodied carbon. Steel and concrete are the usual suspects, but glass, aluminum and gypsum-based products often carry high embodied carbon values too. Identifying and minimizing their use when possible can make a major impact. On projects like Audible and Aspen, post-mortem assessments showed that glass components alone contributed significantly to overall carbon impacts, leading us to reconsider where and how these materials are used.
At Grant Thornton, an eight-story renovation project in Reading, London, reusing elements like glass partitions, carpet, ceiling finishes and access flooring became a core strategy. While these decisions were primarily carbon- driven, they ultimately deliver big budget savings along with a 75% reduction in embodied carbon, a powerful reminder that reuse, when thoughtfully implemented, is a quiet dynamo.
Generic assumptions only go so far. We now require product-specific EPDs for major material categories, especially flooring, ceiling systems and partitions. This pushes manufacturers to improve transparency and allows us to select materials with demonstrably lower global warming potential. We continue to work directly with manufacturers to better understand their products’ emissions. However, having an EPD, versus claiming your product is 90% recycled and powered by photovoltaics, makes a huge difference in credibility.
Transportation-related impacts aren’t always the biggest piece of the puzzle, but locally sourcing materials can still reduce emissions, and support local economies. For Clifford Chance’s NYC headquarters, the design team selected terrazzo with high recycled content of glass, and marble sourced within a 100-mile radius. These choices not only aligned with LEED, WELL, and overall sustainability goals but also contributed to the project’s 28% reduction in embodied carbon.
Plant-based Materials. Biobased products like wood, flax and plant-derived ceiling tiles often come with lower embodied carbon, and store carbon during their lifecycle. In the Skyfall project, combining repurposed access flooring with a palette of light, biobased finishes helped achieve a 78% reduction from baseline. If you’re an embodied carbon nerd, you might be suspicious of counting biogenic carbon storage as a sink that offsets anthropogenic emissions. And yes, there’s a lot of debate around it. We’ll discuss that another day. One thing I feel confident about is that equilibrium is key. If we only build with biobased materials, we’ll create imbalance, just as we have by relying too heavily on petrochemical-based products. Let’s be bold and explore more balanced, alternative solutions. This goes especially for manufacturers.
These five lessons have shaped our methodology and delivered tangible carbon reductions across a wide range of interior projects. We also recognize that as industry baselines improve over time, achieving large percentage reductions becomes harder, even though the design effort often increases. But this is a positive challenge that reflects real progress.
The Road Ahead
Our journey in modeling embodied carbon and using it as a tool to reduce global warming goes beyond specific strategies. It reflects a broader shift underway in our industry. More clients are setting carbon goals early. Designers are integrating embodied carbon into their decision-making, not as an afterthought but as a design driver. Manufacturers are stepping up with more transparent data and better products.
We can’t claim that we’ve perfected the method. Our approach continues to evolve with each project, each challenge and each conversation. But what we do see is progress. It is measurable, impactful and growing. Every baseline we define, every product we scrutinize and every kilogram of CO₂e we avoid brings us closer to a built environment that doesn’t just serve people, but also respects planetary boundaries.
The path to low-carbon design isn’t linear, just like the discovery of perspective. But it is becoming clearer with each project. And if these results are any indication, we’re heading in the right direction.
Read Part 1 of this series: The Fundamentals of Carbon.
Read Part 2 of this series: The Carbon Behind the Curtain.
