EMBODIED CARBON
& SUSTAINABILITY
OUR GOAL IS TO
IMPACT & CHANGE
THE INDUSTRY
KL&A is different because we’re not just practicing in this space, we’re pushing the industry forward. Embodied carbon is built into how we design and build, and that perspective has helped us influence codes, standards, and expectations across the profession.
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KL&A has been involved with material salvage in our projects since the 1990's. Our work on the Boulder Community Hospital deconstruction project —the first project of its kind in the nation— established new specifications, captured 161 tons of structural steel for reuse, and set a precedent for circular-economy practices that others now follow.
WHY IT MATTERS
An individual footprint may be small, but industry-wide impact is limitless. When better decisions echo across teams, projects, and years of construction, the effect multiplies.
INDIVIDUAL
Average carbon footprint one individual
(structural engineer) =
16 tonnes CO2eq/year
ONE BUILDING
Average GWP impact of one hypothetical building: -400 tonnes CO2eq
REDUCTION IMPACT:
25X ONE INDIVIDUAL
ONE YEAR OF BUILDINGS
1 years’ worth of projects, approximately 10 buildings, Structural engineer able to reduce GWP by -4000 tonnes CO2eq
REDUCTION IMPACT:
250X ONE INDIVIDUAL
AT KL&A, WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE ONE STRUCTURE AT A TIME.
KL&A drives sustainability at the source by targeting embodied carbon, the emissions built into a structure long before operational energy comes into play.
By combining engineering, construction, and material expertise, we guide teams toward smarter systems, lower-carbon materials, and reuse opportunities—through advising policy, LCAs, system comparisons, low-carbon concrete strategies, mass timber design, and salvage planning that turn sustainability goals into real outcomes.
KL&A'S 10 STRATEGIES TO
REDUCE EMBODIED CARBON
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
START NOW
BIG ROCKS FIRST
INNOVATE
REUSE BUILDINGS & COMPONENTS
MORE BIOGENIC MATERIALS
LESS CEMENT
LONG LIFE, LOOSE FIT
COST MATTERS
MARKET EVOLUTION & INCENTIVES
OPEN-SOURCE EFFECT
COMMITTED TO
NET ZERO
KL&A’s commitment to sustainability and reducing embodied carbon began in 2008, shaping our work long before it became an industry focus.
That commitment continued as we became an early signatory of the SE2050 Challenge—a national pledge to eliminate embodied carbon in structural systems by 2050. We contribute LCAs to the SE2050 database and publish an annual Embodied Carbon Action Plan outlining our goals and progress. Explore our Action Plans to follow the steps we’ve taken—and the ones we’re planning next.
