A new metric measuring the amount of carbon reduced in reuse projects is changing the way practitioners of the built environment can quantify the success of retrofit projects of all types and sizes. 

Architecture 2030’s new CARE (Carbon Avoided Retrofit Estimator) Tool is a way of providing valuable statistics that show the carbon savings of each project accurately and using a standardized methodology. Its tool was developed by Siegel and Strain Architects principal Larry Strain along with Architecture 2030’s Erin McDade and Goody Clancy’s Lori Ferriss and is already in use at several leading firms nationwide.  

CARE Tool works by taking user inputs about energy targets and potential building interventions to estimate operational carbon emissions and embodied carbon emissions in each project.

According to the group: “Outputs are visualized as total embodied and operational emissions over a specified time frame as well as cumulative emissions over time, for three scenarios: the existing building, the renovated building, and the new construction. Results can be compared to determine the lowest total-carbon approach and the time frame in which that occurs.”

EskewDumezRipple’s Sustainability and Building Performance Principal Z Smith adds: “We’ve done deep-dive simulations of up-front (embodied) carbon emissions as well as projected carbon emissions from building operation, spending hundreds of staff hours. The CARE tool allows us to demonstrate — in minutes — the benefits of renovations, not just to the human experience of the buildings, but to their environmental footprint. This is a great addition to the tools architects need to make the case for the rapid transformation of our existing building stock.”

Architecture 2030 says it will help deliver answers for policymakers, developers, and planning officials looking to assess the potential impact of each project. Retrofits are increasing nationally, and, as Smith outlined, the CARE Tool, among others, is going to be one of a valuable new generation of technologies that help direct the industry and society towards a greener future in the years to come.

The free tool is available at caretool.org.