Steel’s Embodied Carbon Advantage in a Changing Material Landscape

Presentation

When – 22nd July 2024

Where – Building 401-439, 20 Symonds Street (University of Auckland Faculty of Engineering). Access from Symonds Street (Refer City Campus Map Link).

Agenda –
17:30 pre-presentation refreshments
18:00 presentation

Please register for this presentation below:

Abstract

Life cycle analysis (LCA) and embodied carbon comparisons are new variables in design and procurement decision, especially for structural engineers and the clients they are working for. With a changing landscape and increasing data transparency, this information is evolving differently for concrete, timber and steel. This event will explore each material’s changing LCA issues and how LCA decision-making from a place of knowledge is crucial.

LCA’s done right move us from linear building life thinking, with a building’s end of life equaling a land-fill, to more holistic circular economy thinking; including longevity, adaptability, and re-use. For steel, these are all positives. We invite you to find out, and to challenge, how to bring these ideas into your current design and construction practices. This presentation will provide insights into:

Whole Building LCA Decision Points in Design

1. Putting time into the equation
2. Evaluating carbon at SD, DD, CD, and As-Built
3. Aysmmetric beam research and optimization
4. Longevity case study
5. Permanence or Disassembly case study

Whole Building LCA Decision Points in Procurement

1. Product Category Rules
2. Environmental Product Declarations
3. Double Bottom Line Evaluations

How Materials Compare

1. Using each material at what it does best
2. Disclosure and transparency – rewarding those doing better
3. Re-use of steel – when and how

Biography

Don Davies is the Past President of Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), a structural and civil engineering consulting firm headquarter in Seattle, Washington.  He has structurally designed projects are in 18 countries and more than 50 major metropolitan centres. More than 25 are Performance Based Seismic Designed towers. Don helped to create the Carbon Leadership Forum and led teams to develop the Hines Embodied Carbon Reduction Guide and a recently released Lower Carbon Concrete Guide by the ClimateWorks Foundation.  He is also a committee member American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Sustainability Committee and is currently on the US Product Category Rule (PCR) committee that is re-writing the rules for measuring and reporting the carbon footprint of steel within Environmental Product Declarations (EPD’s) for North America.

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