Study of Chicago buildings may help developers reduce carbon emissions

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — An analysis of buildings in Chicago could help mitigate climate change.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says 11% of global emissions of greenhouse gases comes from the manufacturing of construction materials. It's known as “embodied carbon.”

Researchers at Notre Dame say they developed a tool to analyze embodied carbon in more than 1 million buildings in Chicago.

Their study found that carbon emissions from construction can be reduced by two-thirds if builders and developers can accomplish two things: increasing the average lifespan of buildings from 50 years to 75 years, while reducing the average size of new buildings by 20%.

The researchers said their findings showed that preserving an older building can be greener than replacing it with a newer one, even if the new building is more energy-efficient.

The full study may be found online .

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