GLOSSARY

Embodied Carbon

Embodied carbon is the greenhouse-gas footprint of a facility’s materials and construction, as distinct from the operational energy it uses. In a parking facility:

EMBODIED concrete, steel, construction · paid up front OPERATIONAL lighting + ventilation, accrues slowly CUMULATIVE CO₂ yr 0yr 25yr 50
Embodied carbon is emitted before the doors open, in the cement, steel, and building of the structure. For a garage that uses little energy to run, that upfront block is most of its lifetime footprint. Illustrative; concrete alone is roughly 8% of global CO₂.
  • Concrete dominates the embodied ledger; mix designs, supplementary cementitious materials, and verified product declarations are the levers.

Considerations

  • Specify measurable values the submittal can carry, not green claims it cannot. The greenest ton of concrete is the one the spec made accountable.