<aside> <img src="/icons/bell_gray.svg" alt="/icons/bell_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Last updated March 11, 2025

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Scope of Data

Tangible includes embodied carbon and operational carbon. Embodied carbon includes product manufacturing and construction (A1-A5), in-use emissions (B1-B5), and end of life emissions (C1-C4). Operational carbon is reflected in B6.

Tangible assumes a 60 year building life, which impacts the in-use embodied emissions (building maintenance) and the operational energy of the building (accounting for 60 years of building utility bills).

Data Sources

Data on Tangible comes from a few sources:

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)

Environmental Product Declarations are third-party verified documents summarizing and disclosing the carbon and environmental impacts of a product. They are based on Life Cycle Assessment studies conducted on the supply chain of the material.

Important characteristics of an EPD:

• Carbon impact (5 kg CO2e / m2)
• Issue and Expiration date (EPDs usually valid for 5 years)
• Declared unit (ex: 1 m2, 1 yd3)

Tangible includes two types of EPDs, product-specific and industry-wide:

1. Product-specific EPDs

   1. Specific impacts from a particular product, manufactured by a specific company in one or more identified factories

2. Industry-wide EPDs

   1. Generic average impacts from a product manufactured in a general region

Product Cards

Low Carbon:

• Equal to or less than the 20th Percentile carbon impact for the product category. The 20th Percentile is determined by the 2023 CLF Material Baselines Report.
• Why: This chip highlights products that are particularly low carbon for their product category.

Above Baseline:

• Above the baseline for the product category. See the Baselines section for more information on how we set the baselines for each category.
• Why: This chip flags products that are on the high end of carbon impacts for their product category.

Carbon Sink:

• Products that are carbon sequestering, meaning they absorb more carbon than they emit.
• Why: This chip highlights products that will directly reduce the embodied carbon of a project or building.

Industry-wide EPD:

• Identifies this product as an Industry-wide EPD, and not representative of a real product that could be specified or procured.
• Why: This card is representative of an average general product from this category.

Baselines

Baselines represent industry average carbon impacts for a product category. There are two approaches to baselines on Tangible:

All Product Categories

Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) Baselines

• This approach applies to almost every product category. The 2023 Carbon Leadership Forum Material Baselines document establishes industry average values for product categories based on published Industry-wide EPDs.

Concrete

National Ready Mix Concrete Association (NRMCA) Regional Benchmarks

Canadian Ready Mix Concrete Association (CRMCA) Provincial Industry Wide EPDs

Note:

• Foamed-in-place and Sprayed insulation: Baselines for these product categories are currently omitted. They will be incorporated as more product data becomes available.
• Concrete Masonry Units: Baselines are aligned with GU cement block impacts.
• Board Roof Insulation: CFG and GRF Roof Boards are grouped together under the more conservative CFG baseline until more product data becomes available.
• US Concrete: NRMCA baselines for US concrete are location-specific.

© Tangible Materials Inc 2024