Event Description

The built environment is responsible for over 40% of carbon emissions globally and nearly one-third of the emissions produced in the U.S. (USGBC’s 2023 report on the State of Decarbonization). Decarbonizing buildings, targeting reductions in operational, embodied, refrigerants and transportation emissions, is essential to meeting our collective climate goals. 

Embodied carbon emissions stemming from building construction, including materials manufacturing and transportation and construction activity, are a huge contributor to global and national emissions. According to USGBC and RMI’s joint report “Driving Action on Embodied Carbon in Buildings,” embodied carbon emissions from building construction accounts for around 6% of total U.S. GHG emissions per year - that’s 370 million tons of CO2e annually. We must reduce embodied carbon emissions if we are to meet our collective climate goals. 

Join USGBC Upstate New York for a Building Transformation Forum exploring practical tools, resources and strategies to support building decarbonization. The Building Transformation Forum reception and networking will be held in SUNY ESF’s LEED Platinum Gateway Center and will continue with a tour of the recently renovated Marshall Hall and its decarbonization efforts. The panel discussion to follow will focus on embodied carbon and the tools and strategies that SUNY ESF has implemented in its efforts to attain its sustainability goals.

USGBC’s Building Transformation Forums convene industry leaders, practitioners, and sustainability professionals to learn and engage around specific, locally relevant topics. Built around growing connections and green building education, forum models adapt to meet audience needs and inspire action.