• EcoMethod
• ReMethod
• Carbon Challenge
  • 2030 Challenge
  • Living Building Challenge
  • Oregon Carbon Challenge
  • The Big Look Task Force
  • Portland Development Commission - Strategic Plan 2008-2012
  • ODOT - Context Sensitive and Sustainable Solutions Approach (CS³)
  • Western Climate Initiative
  • USGBC LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design^®
• Goals
• How We Work Together

The Carbon Challenge

Living Building Challenge

EcoLogistics is excited to contribute to the Living Building Challenge as issued by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council in the Draft version 1.2 dated June 2007. The Living Building Challenge is a program created by Cascadia as a tool to inform the green building community of the next steps in sustainable construction that are required to address the daunting challenge of reversing climate change and creating a development industry that is sustainable for our future.

In the Living Building Challenge guide the authors identify that "... a fundamental shift in the way we design, build and operate our built environment is required. Significant shifts in efficiency and impacts will be required to face the challenges ahead."

The EcoMethod from EcoLogistics is just such a shift. By providing information about the impacts of the "build" portion of this challenge, we believe that better choices will be made and, in turn, the industries will react to these choices to make carbon sensitive options less expensive and more available. Better prices and availability of sustainable options will conversely cause manufacturers to phase out carbon insensitive options from our marketplace. The authors also welcome all ideas and make a specific plea to contribute to The Living Building Challenge with diagrams, tools and resources that can help to achieve these goals.

Prerequisite 6 is a section that the EcoMethod can add significant traction. The module requires that the "project must account for the embodied carbon footprint of its construction through a one-time carbon offset tied to the building's square footage and general construction type." One major improvement that the EcoMethod brings to this challenge is that we can actually measure the embedded carbon rather than relying on averages based on the general construction type and square footage of the project. To measure the carbon on a project-by-project basis adds more than the value of a more accurate number, it educates the builder on where the carbon decisions occur, the magnitude of the carbon choices and the cost differential of various options. This information allows the builder to lower these impacts before they are incurred. The builder can either select alternate choices of sourcing the same product or service from closer distances or perhaps change the design to substitute materials or methods that can lower GHG emissions.

We expect that The Living Building Challenge has not required a specific carbon footprint for each project due to the cost and complexity of commissioning such a service. We have specifically developed the EcoMethod Phase 1 Carbon Due Diligence report to be affordable, the data entry requirements are flexible to allow for anything from program information to a "bolt-by-bolt" exercise and a preliminary report can be generated in just a couple of weeks in most cases. More importantly, the information provided will cause builders to make more carbon sensitive choices and directly lower the amount of carbon offsets that need to be purchased. Further, we all recognize that the effectiveness of offsetting carbon with credits is not going to create the type of carbon reductions that we need to make. The only way to guarantee a lower carbon environment is to choose not to emit the carbon. The EcoMethod is a tool that will provide the information that we need to make that choice while considering the cost of each carbon reduction strategy.

Prerequisite 8 - Appropriate Materials / Services Radius is significantly empowered through the use of the EcoMethod. The EcoMethod specifically measures the material and services options for each project and defines the carbon consequences of each option. In addition to quantifying the carbon emissions, we are able to measure any impacts to our transportation system from wear and tear as well as the identify opportunities to support local suppliers and economies. Support of local suppliers and economies is also a sustainable technique to help transition us from the unsustainable global distribution network back to a more local and regional trade system. The current distance limits for the various materials and services can be significantly lowered through use of the EcoMethod and the act of making sourcing decisions at a local level will continue to make smaller radius' more and more achievable.

The EcoMethod is ready for your Living Building Challenge.