The sectors responsible for Canada’s highest emissions in 2020 were:
- Oil and gas at 162.2 million tonnes (178.8 million tons), representing 26.6 per cent of total annual emissions.
- Transportation at 144.4 million tonnes (159.2 million tons), representing 23.7 per cent.
- Industries and manufacturing at 85.64 million tonnes (94.42 million tons), representing 14.1 per cent.
- Buildings at 79.6 million tonnes (87.8 million tons), representing 13.1 per cent.1
The internationally recognized Reporting Standard by Greenhouse Gas Protocol categorizes emissions reporting into three “scopes.”
- Scope 1: Direct emissions associated with the consumption of fuel, including transportation, equipment operation, and facility operation.
- Scope 2: Indirect emissions associated with purchased energy for electricity, heating, and cooling.
- Scope 3: Indirect emissions for activities not included in Scope 1 or 2 that are listed in 15 categories, including waste generated in operations and end-of-life treatment of sold products.2
Specification professionals can help significantly lower commercial and residential buildings’ GHG emissions on a property across all three scopes by:
- Reducing “operational carbon”—Addressed in Scopes 1 and 2, this is the CO2eq associated with a property’s fossil fuel energy consumption and its emissions. One may lower operational carbon by using renewable energy sources to fuel the building’s operation, by using high-efficiency electric appliances and equipment, and by incorporating energy-efficient, high-performance systems and technologies.
- Reducing “embodied carbon”—Addressed in Scope 3, this is the CO2eq associated with the production, use, and disposal of a property’s construction materials and processes. One may lower embodied carbon by selecting materials produced with renewable energy that have a long, useful life and are recycled.
According to the 2019 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction Sector published by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), buildings’ construction and operations accounted for:
- 36 per cent of final energy use in 2018.
- 39 per cent of energy and process-related CO2eq emissions in 2018; 11 per cent of which came from manufacturing building materials and products.
The report identifies steel, cement, and glass as having the largest opportunities for carbon footprint reduction. Since 2019, these industries have taken significant steps to lower their carbon footprint.3
The Carbon Smart Materials Palette, a project providing attribute-based design and material specification guidance, states, “It is anticipated that embodied carbon will be responsible for 72 per cent of the carbon emissions associated with global new construction between now and 2030.”4
Material transparency allows specifiers and building teams to make more informed decisions. Assisting with that evaluation, manufacturers can provide life cycle assessments (LCAs), environmental product declarations (EPDs), Cradle to Cradle certifications, and other documentation. Where industry average EPDs and other data was once acceptable, product- and facility-specific data are now necessary for more accurate selection criteria and project sustainability reporting.
Carbon-reduced, high-quality zinc
As a natural metal, zinc is the 24th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and the fourth most used metal in the world.5 The International Zinc Association (IZA) estimates the world’s zinc use at 20 million tonnes (19.6 million tons) per year. Both mining and recycling are necessary and available to meet anticipated zinc demands. Globally, 12.8 million tonnes (12.6 tons) of zinc are mined and 7.6 million tonnes (7.6 tons) recycled annually.6
Mining, extracting, and refining metals is an energy-intensive process. As material demands and energy costs rise, energy-efficient production maximizes both economic and environmental resources. Since zinc has a relatively low melting point of 418 C (784 F), it takes less energy to process it than other metals and materials. For comparison, aluminum melts at 660 C (1,220 F) and steel at 1,370 C (2,500 F).
