<aside> <img src="/icons/bell_gray.svg" alt="/icons/bell_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Last updated October 7, 2024

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Scope of Data

Embodied carbon on Tangible includes Life Cycle Stages A1-A5, or raw material extraction, transportation, product manufacturing, transport to site, and construction. Modules A1-A3 come directly from Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) data, while modules A4 and A5 are calculated by Tangible.

Board, Foamed-in-place, and Sprayed Insulation products are the exception, where modules outside of A1-A3 are included from the EPD to account for emissions associated with blowing agents used during the installation of these products and over the product’s lifespan. These products include modules A1-A5, B1, C4.

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

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

• Tangible uses the 2022 v3.2 NRMCA Regional Benchmarks as baselines for U.S. Concrete (Ready Mix and Shotcrete).

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

• Tangible uses the 2022 CRMCA Regional Baselines, as summarized in the 2023 Carbon Leadership Forum material Baselines document.

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.
  • The % Reduction shown on the Product page compares against the US National baseline.
  • The % Reduction shown in a Project compares against the location-specific baseline.

Percent Reduction Calculation

• Used to calculate the % Reduction in A1-A3 GWP impact between a given product and the baseline for that product category.

$$ {\frac{(Baseline - Real\;Product)}{ Baseline}} * 100 = Percent\; Reduction $$

• Percent Reduction is calculated for product specific EPDs and industry wide EPDs.

Note:

• Insulation: For Board insulation products, the % Reduction is calculated including impacts outside of A1-A3. See Scope of Data for more.
• Product categories without baselines: Product categories without baselines will not show % Reduction chip and will have “no baseline carbon information available” on the product page.

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.

Create a Project

Project Floor Area

Tangible includes two subsections of floor area under Project Details: Above Ground Floors and Below Ground Floors.

Users can create different Floor Groups, which allow for detailed input of Area per Floor and Property Use, and Customize options like Window to Wall Ratio, Floor to Floor Height, and Structural System. These inputs allow for increased accuracy in carbon estimations.

Gross Floor Area Tangible defines Gross Floor Area (GFA) as the area of fully-enclosed / interior spaces of a building. GFA includes the area of stairs, risers, and shafts. GFA excludes the area of balconies, roofs, and above or below grade parking.

GFA is the denominator of Embodied Carbon Intensity (kg CO2e / m2).

Note that parking floors are excluded from the calculation so it is important to differentiate between parking and below ground floors for non-parking uses in Project Details.

Below Ground Floors

Tangible uses the area below ground to inform the carbon estimations. Projects with below ground area will require excavation and additional site work, and will therefore have higher carbon impacts for the construction stage (A5).

© Tangible Materials Inc 2024