Explainer
Weighing Embodied vs. Operational Carbon Tradeoffs
Most low-carbon strategies are complementary, but not always. When is a carbon savings worth a carbon penalty?
by Candace Pearson
I could press the snooze button on my alarm and get a little more sleep. But, then I might be late to work again. A classic tradeoff.
As our tools become better at estimating carbon impacts, it has become clear that there are also tradeoffs between embodied carbon and operational carbon. Efforts to reduce one might increase the other. If we don’t keep a big-picture view by completing whole-project life-cycle assessments (LCAs), we might not even recognize the tradeoffs we’re making. In this article, we’ll explore some of the most common tradeoffs of embodied carbon and operational carbon and identify the assumptions that can sway a tradeoff analysis. We’ll also acknowledge that sometimes there are gains that are worth the tradeoff. (I would argue that a little more sleep is one of them.)
Published December 16, 2024
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Pearson, C. (2024, December 16). Weighing Embodied vs. Operational Carbon Tradeoffs. Retrieved from https://www.buildinggreen.com/explainer/weighing-embodied-vs-operational-carbon-tradeoffs