Looking for certified professionals to conduct a comprehensive Whole-Building Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to:
- Comply with the new embodied carbon requirements for Part 3 building permits in the City of Vancouver
- Receive up to $40,000 by reducing the embodied carbon of your new home (City of Vancouver)
- Fill out the embodied carbon portion of Sustainability Checklists
- Report embodied carbon with a whole-building life cycle assessment for rezoning applications
Look no further! Hire the Carbon Wise team.
Carbon Wise’s team proudly made history as the first in North America to achieve the prestigious BCIT Whole-Building LCA accreditation, solidifying our expertise in delivering cutting-edge LCA services.
At Carbon Wise, we specialize in delivering top-notch Whole-Building Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and in helping you navigate the complexities of sustainable building practices, ensuring your project meets and exceeds the latest code requirements.
Our award-winning team utilizes cutting-edge methodology to accurately quantify and reduce embodied carbon, guiding you toward sustainable material choices, efficient resource allocation, and compliance with the city’s embodied carbon regulations.
Trust our LCA expertise to navigate the evolving complexities of sustainable building practices and take the next step toward a greener future.
What our clients say about us
“Carbon Wise is one of the few companies offering combined embodied carbon and energy modelling services. Highly recommend this team for your low-carbon construction needs.“
“Elisabeth and James were extremely knowledgeable on how to reduce both the embodied and operational emissions of our build.”
“Carbon Wise is a top-notch group of energy experts that also included embodied carbon calculations so that our clients can get a real picture of the environmental impact their home or renovation will have over its full lifespan.”
“We learned about our highest carbon materials, lower impact choices we could make, and the carbon benefit of deconstruction/reuse.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are Embodied Emissions?
Embodied Emissions (also called Embodied Carbon) are the sum of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions associated with raw material extraction, manufacturing, and transportation for materials production and the emissions associated with the construction, maintenance, renovation, and end-of-life of buildings and infrastructure. Greenhouse gas emissions are calculated relative to the impact of one molecule of carbon dioxide and reported as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) with units of mass.
Q: What is a Life Cycle Assessment?
A: A Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a product, process, or service, from the acquisition of raw materials until its end of life (“from cradle to grave”).
Q: Why are Embodied Emissions important?
Unlike operational carbon emissions, which can be reduced over time with energy efficiency upgrades and the use of renewable energy, embodied carbon emissions are locked in place as soon as a building is built. As we build more energy-efficient homes with low-carbon fuels, Embodied Emissions represent a bigger portion of the emissions pie (up to 90% for an electrically heated Step 5 home!) and become an increasingly pressing issue.
Q: Are there any rebates available for low-carbon homes?
Yes! If you are building a new home in the City of Vancouver, the NearZero Embodied Emissions Program offers to cover some of your initial costs, if there are any. Carbon Wise is the first consulting firm to provide both Energy Efficiency services and Life Cycle Assessments taking into account the synergies between the two. We can help with your application.
Have more questions? We’ve got the answers!
