VECC’s role in reducing embodied carbon in landscapes

With the rising awareness of climate change and its effects, industries across the globe are increasingly recognising the importance of reducing their carbon footprints.

Among these, the landscape and urban design sectors play a pivotal role in shaping the environmental impact of the built environment. One of the significant aspects of this impact is embodied carbon – the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions associated with the production, supply and lifecycle of materials used in construction for landscape projects. This article looks at the importance of calculating embodied carbon and the role of the Vectorworks Embodied Carbon Calculator (VECC) in aiding landscape architects and urban designers in doing this.

Embodied carbon refers to the total CO₂ emissions produced throughout the lifecycle of a material or product, from production and transportation to installation and disposal. While architects often focus on reducing embodied carbon in buildings and materials, landscape architects strive to balance embodied carbon with sequestered carbon in their designs or even create carbon-negative landscapes. This consideration spans everything from the concrete in footings to the light fixtures in garden beds. Accurately calculating and mitigating embodied carbon is essential for achieving net zero carbon goals in landscape projects.

Decisions on material specification, construction methods, even plant suppliers, can greatly affect the total embodied carbon of a project. By applying low-carbon strategies and choosing materials with lower embodied carbon, landscape professionals can make substantial contributions to sustainable design. However, to make informed decisions, they need accurate data on the carbon impacts of various materials, which VECC can fulfil.

Materials available in the Vectorworks Resource Manager.

Image courtesy of Vectorworks, Inc.

VECC includes two pre-formatted worksheets, one for the early stages of a project and another for the advanced stages. These worksheets are built on the traditional phases of a product’s lifecycle, often called the ‘cradle to grave’ cycle:

• Product Stage: Tracks embodied carbon from the supply, transport and manufacturing of selected raw materials.

• Transportation Stage: Monitors carbon emissions transporting products from the manufacturing plant to the project site.

• Construction Stage: Accounts for emissions from any on- or off-site construction activities.

• Replacement Stage: Considers carbon emissions related to the anticipated replacement of landscape components.

• Deconstruction & Demolition Stage: Tracks emissions arising from demolition activities.

• Recovery & Recycling Stage: Focuses on emissions associated with the treatment and processing of materials intended for reuse after the end of the project’s lifecycle.

These stages allow for a comprehensive calculation of embodied carbon, providing landscape professionals with the information needed to minimise the environmental impact of their designs. Since VECC is integrated into Vectorworks, it automatically identifies the volume of materials applied to 3D objects, such as walls, pavements or concrete footings. The embodied carbon values embedded in Vectorworks materials are then used to calculate the total embodied carbon for the project.

In the early stages of a project, VECC utilises generic material data, allowing for preliminary assessments of embodied carbon. More specific manufacturer data can be integrated as the project progresses, enabling more accurate calculations. This two-stage approach ensures that the transition from early to advanced design stages is as seamless and automated as possible.

The introduction of VECC is a response to the growing need for tools that help reduce carbon emissions in the landscape industry, providing a foundation for this by following existing industry standards and using industry- specific data. This makes VECC an invaluable tool for cross-disciplinary collaboration, allowing landscape architects to work alongside architects, engineers and other stakeholders to achieve a common goal.

With the VECC, you can extract data into a chart.

Image courtesy of Vectorworks, Inc.

VECC’s flexibility is one of its greatest strengths. Landscape architects can use the tool to create a library of materials tailored to their needs, enabling them to specify products in regard to their Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) data. By integrating EPD data into their calculations, designers can achieve the desired accuracy in determining the total embodied carbon of a project, ultimately leading to more sustainable design choices.

A landscape project with VECC reports.

Image courtesy of Vectorworks, Inc.

While VECC provides a robust framework for calculating embodied carbon, the landscape industry must also consider carbon sequestration. This means that future tools will need to incorporate data on soil carbon and vegetation to provide a complete picture of a landscape project’s carbon impact.

Calculating embodied carbon in landscapes is a critical aspect of sustainable design. VECC offers landscape architects and urban designers a powerful tool for assessing and reducing the carbon footprint of projects at the design development stage. By embracing tools like the VECC and considering the entire lifecycle of materials, the landscape industry can play a vital role in the global effort to combat climate change.

Visit vectorworks.net to learn more about integrating VECC into your workflow and stay tuned for a webinar on ‘Embodied Carbon Calculation in Landscapes’ at campus.landscapeinstitute.org.

Marketa Hermova is Landscape Product Specialist at Vectorworks.