(E05) Embodied Carbon Chutes and Ladders: The Ups and Downs of Building with Surplus Products

What happens to construction materials acquired but not installed for a project? Join us for a game of Embodied Carbon Chutes and Ladders and learn how a government agency, an architect, and two contractors are minimizing and repurposing surplus. During this session you’ll learn the strengths and shortcomings of surplus redistribution. Build with excess product, shimmy up a ladder. Discard unused items in a recycle bin, find yourself down a chute. We begin with a summary of findings from San Francisco Department of the Environment’s Surplus Building Products Reduction and Redistribution Study (https://bit.ly/sfsurplusstudy), which offers insights about situations that lead to surplus on construction sites, including building product types, quantities, frequency, as well as ways to minimize and repurpose these items. Now that the board is set up, Skanska will discuss the embodied carbon impact of surplus and excess waste on projects. Next moves: WRNS Studio will share how the architecture firm is lowering embodied carbon by incorporating surplus and salvage into the design process, educating clients/owners on the beauty and benefits of “seconds”. BCCI and Skanska will offer their perspectives and share case studies on the use of surplus and reclaimed materials from small projects and Tenant Improvements to larger ground-up construction. We need to start thinking of surplus not as waste but as an opportunity to design and build something more meaningful that positively impacts people, planet, and profits. This session will elevate cost-competitive, reuse-driven strategies, and increase transparency among the owner and AEC community, so more people are prepared to move toward zero waste construction. Walk the talk and win the game!