Associated General Contractors Releases First-of-Its- Kind Emissions Guide

In a move to help construction firms stay abreast of new greenhouse gas emission standards, the Associated General Contractors of America has just released a comprehensive survey of instructions.

In a statement, Jeff Shoaf, AGC chief executive officer, say the documents will help firms “understand the basics of tracking carbon emissions, including who is responsible for those emissions, how to track them and what are the best ways to cut them.”

The AGC Playbook on Decarbonization and Carbon Reporting in the Construction Industry is particularly designed to ensure that builders play a proactive role in putting together carbon-reduction measures with their individual projects.

Noting that buildings in the U.S. consume nearly 40% of the nation’s energy, a source that powers lighting, heating and cooling, and both appliances and electronics, the document reports that “as more owners and developers are required to report on carbon data, contractors are increasingly seeing some form of sustainability program requirements or carbon tracking stipulations within Requests for Proposals.”

Builders can put together such data at two levels: project-level reporting “can help a company assess the performance of its construction projects, such as building energy-efficient buildings, installing renewable energy systems, or using low-carbon materials.”

Corporate-level reporting, meanwhile, “can help a company track and manage greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations across its project portfolio, such as total fuel consumption, electricity use, water generation, or employee travel.”

The document spells out a four-step process that all builders can follow to make clear who should be responsible for different carbon emissions standards associated within a given construction project.

It additionally spells out the carbon emissions related to such materials as asphalt, concrete, flat glass, and steel.

“This is the first document of its kind written by contractors, for contractors, to help them assess the impacts of the projects they are hired to build,” remarked Shoaf.

The AGC leader added: “Our goal is to make sure our members have clear, actionable, and replicable resources to understand their responsibilities, measure their impacts of their projects, and operate as efficiently as possible.”

​By Garry Boulard

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