Build Carbon Neutral

By using this website, including any information or resources it provides, you are agreeing to the following:

1. This calculator and associated materials have been prepared from a variety of sources, and it is believed that the calculator provides a useful method for estimating CO2 release. However, carbon calculation is not a science, although it is based on science. The organizations involved in the development of the calculator, including Mithun, The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Washington's Program on the Environment, and any other organization involved, collectively and individually, do not warrant this calculator for any purpose, nor do they make any representations regarding its fitness for any use or purpose whatsoever. Each User agrees to decide if, when and how to use the calculator, and does so for his or her own purposes and at his or her sole risk. When using the tools provided on the Build Carbon Neutral website, you agree that you are not entitled to rely on any information generated using the calculator. This calculator is intended to be a tool to educate and assist informed decisions about the impacts of embodied carbon during a project's design phase. Outside entities that recommend this calculator, including for permitting purposes, do so without the authorization of buildcarbonneutral.org or its creators. You further agree to hold Mithun, The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Washington's Program on the Environment, and any of their partners in the creation of the tools, harmless for loss you might suffer arising out of any inaccuracies in numbers generated by the calculator or variation between predictions and your actual results. Under no circumstances shall Mithun, The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Washington's Program on the Environment, or any of their partners that helped create the tools, be liable for any damages, including incidental, special or consequential damages, arising from the use of this calculator or an inability to use it.
2. This is Version 0.01 Beta of the calculator and represents a very general and initial attempt to simply quantify embodied construction carbon. Future versions will include larger data sets, and expanded information for each of the building system categories. This accounting does not pass judgment on any specific method of construction - decisions on materials and methods must weigh many factors, of which one should be embodied carbon.
3. A full accounting of embodied carbon would entail an extensive analysis of all building and site components, their origins and many impacts related to getting them to the project site, as well as the impacts related to the individual contractors and their commute to the construction site. Generalizations have allowed the formation of an estimation tool to proceed without the precise definition of all the upstream and active impacts clearly defined.
4. There are as many opinions, assumptions, methods, inclusions, exclusions, accuracies and inaccuracies as there are people with an interest in global warming. Every calculator reflects the biases of its authors, the accuracy of their source information and their goals as an organization. Calculators represent attempts to give some quantification that will lead to reduction, renewal and offset efforts.

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