Summit: Accelerating the Adoption of Low Embodied Carbon Materials

No more seats available
Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 9:00 AM to 4:45 PM · 7 hr. 45 min. (US/Eastern)
Room 406.1/406.2

Information

Accelerate the shift to a low-embodied carbon future at this interactive summit. Explore strategies to scale biobased and circular materials, unlock the carbon potential of existing buildings, and improve whole-life carbon data and measurement.

Collaborate with experts to drive regenerative, climate-smart design and construction that delivers measurable impact before 2030.
Location
Room 406.1/406.2
Program
Summit Session
Pass Type
Conference PassConference Pass + Sustainable Finance & Investing ForumStudent PassSustainable Finance & Investing Forum 4 Day PassVolunteer Pass
Track
Summit

Learning Objectives

Learning Objective #1
Identify strategies to scale the adoption of biobased and circular materials in construction, including designing for disassembly and leveraging existing building stock as a material bank to advance circularity goals before 2030.
Learning Objective #2
Explain the carbon sequestration potential of biobased materials and how integrating them into building design can contribute to regenerative, climate-smart construction while improving occupant health outcomes.
Learning Objective #3
Recognize the current gaps and limitations in whole-life carbon accounting methods — including underrepresented scopes such as MEP systems, refrigerants, and IT — and describe approaches to more accurately measure and report dynamic carbon impacts across a building's lifecycle.
Learning Objective #4
Apply emerging digital tools and product data platforms to streamline low-embodied carbon material selection, improve lifecycle assessment workflows, and drive measurable decarbonization outcomes across project types and market sectors.

Materials Summit Schedule

Full Life Carbon, Dynamic LCA, and Making Buildings Our 6th Carbon Sink

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Mike Johnson · International Living Future Institute
Jonsara Ruth · Healthy Materials Lab, Parsons School of Design

Driving Innovation in the Big Three: Concrete, Steel & Wood

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 10:15 AM to 11:15 AM
Don Davies · Davies-Crooks Associates
Patrick Kenny · Thornton Tomasetti
Maeve Masterson · RMI

In a New York Minute: Innovators Bridging the Digital Materials Divide

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 11:15 AM to 11:45 AM
Alison Kinn Bennett · Building Transparency
Jack Rusk · C.Scale
Wendy Vittori · HPD Collaborative
Paul Shahriari · ecomedes

Building a Reuse Ecosystem: Industry Updates

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM
Mickey Chapa · PAYETTE
Andrew Ellsworth · Doors Unhinged

Building a Reuse Ecosystem: Interactive Workshop

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM
Andrew Ellsworth · Doors Unhinged

What's Next for Circularity

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 2:30 PM to 3:00 PM
David Briefel · Gensler
Nora Rizzo · Responsible Sourcing Lab
Sarah Templin · Impact Acoustic

The Carrot & The Stick: Drivers for Advancing The Low Embodied Carbon Material Economy

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 3:15 PM to 4:15 PM
Chelsea Duckworth · Living Future
Julia Casagrande · NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice

Aligning Towards a Global Materials Strategy

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 4:15 PM to 4:45 PM
Rodolfo Perez · International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)
Tom Wilson · BRE