ASHRAE Journal - February 2022 - 54

COLUMN ENGINEER'S NOTEBOOK
new sources of combustion may be added to
the project. New on-site or off-site renewable
energy must be provided to cover 100% of
operational energy use.
For embodied carbon, the standard sets a
10% reduction requirement for primary materials
(structure and envelope) compared to a
baseline building of equivalent size, function
and energy performance, with a maximum
cap of 500 kgCO2e/m2. The standard requires
disclosure of all embodied carbon emissions
associated with construction and proof of offsetting
through on-site carbon-sequestering
materials or a one-time purchase of carbon
offsets.
The Route to Net Zero Carbon
For the buildings sector, a robust set of standards
and guidance exists to help owners and designers get
to net zero carbon buildings in the next two decades.
Sometimes they still don't quite align with each other on
the specific details, but all of them are pointing in the
same direction. Tools are already available. Guidance
from throughout the industry is being freely shared.
We already know what we should be doing. But it will
take a paradigm shift to make whole life carbon the new
performance metric of " what is good " when it comes to
GWP in the built environment.
As noted in Figure 6, once we approach our projects this
way, our eyes may be opened to all sorts of opportunities
beyond our usual remit, including:
* Driving towards deep energy efficiency;
* Taking responsibility for the embodied carbon of
HVAC equipment;
* Pursuing adaptive reuse of our pre-loved buildings;
* Collaborating more closely with contractors and
manufacturers to reward those who are transparent
about their low-carbon supply chains and low-waste
production methods; and
* Working with landscape architects to sequester
carbon in the site's plantings.
Our Society members are at the center of many
sustainability and energy discussions with clients.
Thus, we may have greater influence over others than
we might believe via knowledge sharing and design
leadership. We can bring insight and skill to help clients
understand the whole life carbon reduction that is
54
ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.o rg
F E B R U A RY 2022
FIGURE 6 The route to net zero.
Route To Net Zero: Getting The Sequencing Right
Passive
Active
Operational
On-Site
Renewables
Grid Decarbonization
Transform
& Reuse
Build
Less
Certified
Offset
Sequencing Decarbonization Interventions
urgently required both for global concerns as well as for
the client's own long-term financial and risk management.
Be bold and take action, gathering others along
the way.
As the nature documentary film maker David
Attenborough recently said at COP26,29 " We are, after
all, the greatest problem solvers to have ever existed on
Earth. If working apart, we are a force powerful enough
to destabilize our planet. Surely working together, we
are powerful enough to save it. "
References
1. UNFCCC. Undated. " Race to Zero Campaign. " United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change. https://tinyurl.
com/4cwudx88
2. ASHRAE. 2021. " Building Decarbonization. " ASHRAE. https://
tinyurl.com/3v89mcx9
3. ASHRAE. 2021. " ASHRAE Task Force for Building
Decarbonization Interim Product: Standards and Codes Table. "
ASHRAE. https://tinyurl.com/2p9fenpe
4. McConahey, E. 2020. " Counting carbon and circular diets. "
ASHRAE Journal 62(5):64 - 71.
5. Ho, N. 2021. " Streamlining electrification in support of
decarbonization. " ASHRAE Journal 63(8):58- 65.
6. Rumsey, P., J. Le Garrec, A. Levasseur. 2021 " How building
decarbonization can transform HVAC. " ASHRAE Journal 63(9):14 -27.
7. Gill, B. 2021. " Solving the large building all-electric heating
problem. " ASHRAE Journal 63(10):12 - 26.
8. McConahey, E. 2021. " The carbon context. " ASHRAE Journal
63(9):28 - 36.
9. eSociety Newsletter. 2021. " Vision 2030: How Decarbonization
Could Affect Tomorrow's Built Environment. " ASHRAE Journal
Newsletter. https://tinyurl.com/4zdyatea
10. Colliver, D., T. Phoenix. 2021. " Demystifying Decarbonization. "
ASHRAE Journal Podcast, Season 1, Episode 5. https://tinyurl.
com/2p9xytyw
Build
Clever
Build
Efficiently
Minimize
Waste
A Typical Building's Carbon Emissions
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ASHRAE Journal - February 2022

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