(H01) Local Policy Action Driving Embodied Carbon Reductions Across the United States

Policy action to address embodied carbon is spreading rapidly across North America, driving more widespread action to decarbonize our buildings and infrastructure. While state and federal action to reduce embodied carbon has made headlines - from the Biden Administration's Federal Sustainability Executive Order to the rapid growth of Buy Clean and other state procurement policies - local policies and programs are innovating and pursuing a broader range of policy solutions to reduce embodied carbon. Local policies and programs are expanding their support of building and material reuse, laying out embodied carbon targets and actions in their climate action plans, encouraging the use of new low carbon materials, and integrating embodied carbon reduction requirements into land use, permitting, and incentive programs. The Carbon Leadership Forum, an industry-academic collaboration hosted at the University Washington, is tracking the growth of the embodied carbon policy landscape and has developed toolkits for policymakers, architects, and building owners ready to join the movement to address embodied carbon. The panel for this session will begin with an introduction of the current landscape of embodied carbon policies and then provide an opportunity to hear about three case studies in the Bay Area (California), Austin, TX, and the Boston, MA region that illustrate the range of action being taken by local governments across the United States.