Course Description: Protecting the earth and addressing climate change is the responsibility of everyone. Individuals, organizations, governments, and businesses are currently striving to figure out how they can do their part to reduce global warming potential through the reduction of CO2 emissions, produce low embodied carbon products, and conserve energy and resources to minimize their carbon footprint. Carbon neutrality has been established as a goal for businesses and governments alike – as more requirements and regulations are being established to reach “Net Zero” by prescribed dates. Through the lens of life cycle assessment and related impacts, the entire manufacturing process of products, including transparency about materials and supply chain, are key in addressing carbon impacts. This educational program shall provide commonly defined terms used to better understand carbon in relation to global warming potential, the right questions to ask about how carbon neutrality is achieved, an example of achieving carbon neutrality for a product, and the application of carbon neutral products and criteria for Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes and USGBC’s LEED® v4.1 BD+C and ID+C.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the nomenclature of climate change and types of carbon.
• Understand types of carbon offsets and applicability to carbon neutral products.
• Understand product life cycle impact categories, including global warming potential.
• Understand the application of carbon neutral buildings and products for LEED® Zero, LEED®v4.1 BD+C and ID+C, and GreenGlobes® rating and certification systems.