Our Environmental Reports
Read Quantis’ Life Cycle Assessment Report
Read Carbon Farming with Timber Bamboo
Read DAC + BAC: a Diversified Approach to Carbon Removal
Overview of BamCore’s Cradle to Grave Analysis & Life Cycle Assessment
BamCore recently asked the international sustainability consultants Quantis to prepare an initial screening-level cradle-to-grave carbon footprint analysis (Life Cycle Assessment) on our Prime Wall System. The results showed BamCore’s uniquely promising carbon footprint. While significant focus and substantial capital investment have been directed at mitigating the impacts of global climate change, two of the more immediate and powerful mitigation opportunities are relatively overlooked: (1) the built environment and (2) carbon sequestration. First, the sector responsible for the most Green House Gas (GHG) production—the built environment—has received the least focus and investment. The proportion of GHG production related to the built environment ranges from 38% to 49% and exceeds that from transportation, industry, food, and agriculture. Investment in the other sectors is driving significant innovation and, in some cases, shifts in fundamental economics and ultimate demand. The building sector, despite being the largest GHG polluter, has remained stubbornly resistant to any degree of fundamental innovation. Second, most climate change mitigation investment to date has been directed at producing improved energy efficiency or renewable energy solutions for current and future energy demand. Success in reducing energy consumption or producing cleaner energy will, of course, lower the rate of growth of GHGs in the atmosphere. However, almost no attention is given to solutions that can lower the already crippling GHG levels in the atmosphere. This is because removing or sequestering GHGs from the atmosphere is not amenable to direct applications of technology without first requiring a significant energy input or without risking unknown disruptions to the earth’s natural processes and systems. BamCore’s patented and building code compliant Wall System is a fundamental innovation that combines reduced energy consumption and demand-driven sequestration in the built environment. By harnessing the strength of highly renewable timber bamboo, BamCore Walls can eliminate the majority of the thermal bridging found in conventional stud-based framing. The sustainability consulting firm Quantis has estimated that the BamCore Wall System can contribute to a reduced 125 metric tons of CO2 (QR p.45 & Figure 17) over the 70- year service life of an average house in the average US climate zone. Moreover, using timber bamboo can contribute to demand conversion of grazing, sugar, cotton, or other acreage to timber bamboo and in doing so can contribute to the estimated permanent sequestration of 337 metric tons of CO2 per hectare (QR p. 37). These initial results only apply to BamCore’s Wall System. As BamCore develops and commercializes its subfloor and roofing systems, the carbon footprint benefits will multiply.