This free easy to use online calculator can assess the whole life embodied carbon of building projects. The tool is called “ShapedEarth” and it does not require particular GHG expertise and can be used by anybody wanting to create beautiful and meaningful “low-carbon” buildings. ShapedEarth is powered by the Low-Carbon Building Method 3.0 (www.lcbmethod.com), a simplified methodology built on PAS2050 and in line with GHG accounting best practices for carrying out lifecycle assessments. Here is the five step process:
STEP 1-LOGIN
1-Enter your your email address and password (top/right of the screen).
2-Click “login”.
*Sign up if you do not already have an account.
STEP 2-CREATE A PROJECT
1-Click the “My project” tab.
2-Fill the form with the name, size, and expected service life of your building.
3-Click “create”.
Click “Open existing project” at the bottom of the page if you want to work on an existing project (note that you can also do that from your account).
STEP 3-ADD MATERIALS
On ShapedEarth you can either import materials from the ShapedEarth database or add your own materials.
Import a material from the database:
1-Click the “My materials” tab.
2-Click “Import from database”.
3-Chose the material in the database you want to add to your project.
4-Click “Add to project”.
5-Complete the form (read Guidelines first).
6-Click “Add”.
Add your own material:
1-Click the “My materials” tab.
2-Click “Add your own material”.
3-Fill the form (read Guidelines first).
4-Click “Add”.
STEP 4-ADD SITE ACTIVITIES
“Site activities” include:
– Fuels used on-site (in site vehicles for example).
– Land use changes (planting trees on-site for example).
To add a site activity:
1-Click the “My site” tab.
2-Click “Add fuel” or “Add land use change”.
3-Fill the form.
4-Click “Add”.
Note: When adding a new fuel, fill the form with data for the construction phase only. ShapedEarth will determine automatically the quantity of fuel used during renovation and deconstruction.
STEP 5-CHECK EMISSIONS
Click the “My emissions” tab to access the emissions of your project.
SHARE
Sharing project info is free and can be done at any stage of the project, even prior to any assessment (Pledge). Once online, the project info will appear in the projects database.
To share project info just do as follows:
1-Read Guidelines (important).
2-Indicate if the assessment is a pledge, pre-assessement, or detailed assessment (see note below).
3-Click “Share”.
To update online info just repeat the steps 1, 2, and 3 above. To “unpublish” your project, go to your account and click “Unpublish” below the project name.
Note: choose “Pledge” if you intend to assess and disclose the emissions of your project on ShapedEarth. This option can be chosen just after you have created you project and prior to any assessment.
To access the tool click here.
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