Sara Means is an Associate at Structural Focus in Los Angeles. She joined Structural Focus in 2005 and has 20 years’ experience working on structural projects. She obtained her B.S. and M.S. in Structural Engineering from UC San Diego and is licensed in California as both a Structural Engineer and a Civil Engineer. Sara is a Legacy LEED Accredited Professional. She has extensive experience working on evaluations and retrofits of existing buildings, historic preservation, structural analysis, computer modeling, and new building design. She is also a member of the sustainability committee at Structural Focus. Structural Focus has joined and financially supports the SE 2050 Commitment Program—the structural engineering profession’s effort to eliminate embodied project carbon by 2050.
Structural materials such as steel and concrete account for more than 10% of the global carbon emissions, and structural engineers have a responsibility to reduce these carbon emissions in the built environment. This presentation will give an introduction to embodied carbon. What is embodied carbon, how do you calculate it, and how do you reduce it? We will discuss which materials are most sustainable and how to reduce embodied carbon in your projects. We will also give an overview of a simple Life Cycle Assessment.