Welcome to SOUR's carbon calculator. This calculator measures the greenhouse gas impacts of construction activities in terms of carbon dioxide equivalency (CO2e). It does this by calculating the embodied carbon of constructed spaces and its supply chain activities during construction. This tool was developed to estimate emissions based upon updated emission datasets, in order to raise awareness on the industry's carbon footprint and stimulate action. Through this calculator, SOUR offsets its estimate project carbon footprint through Cool Effect,, a nonprofit organization which matches more than 90% of its donations with scientifically verified carbon reducing projects.
SOUR carbon calculator is cradle to (construction site) gate scope. This corresponds with Module A1 to A3 in the EU standards, EN 15978 and EN 15804. This tool incorporates the Carbon Leadership Forum's global Embodied Carbon Benchmark Database (ECBD) of over 1,000 existing buildings. The North America Based carbon stocks of soil were delineated based upon ecoregion from a recent (2021) published study in Nature. "Regional environmental controllers influence continental scale soil carbon stocks and future carbon dynamic." The tool maps an approximate 500 miles radius from US major cities to various ecoregions as defined by the EPA.
On the "Data Input" page, enter in values for each calculation. Data input will either be a numerical value in units given on the worksheet or from a selected drop down list. For data cells that a user wishes to enter a null or zero values, either enter zero for a numerical value cell or choose the blank line item option from the drop-down list. The calculator results are shown on the right hand side of the "Data Input" worksheet. The categories of data (Building, Landscape, Supply Chain) can be turned off by entering a zero value.