To help construction companies reduce their carbon footprints,
To help construction companies reduce their carbon footprints, Webcor Builders is partnering with carbon accounting firm Climate Earth to create a database recording the environmental impact of various building projects and their corresponding supply chains.
The plan is for Climate Earth to track the amount of greenhouse gases emitted at every phase of a project. Webcor hopes to use this data to learn what works best and to encourage its clients to choose more efficient and eco-friendly blueprints and building materials.
Based in San Mateo, Calif., Webcor is acknowledged to be the largest contractor in California -- constructing facilities for big names like eBay, Oracle, the California Academy of Sciences and Symantec (pictured right). As such, it stands to make a major impact on the way buildings are made not only in the state, but across the country. It's already ranked No. 2 on Engineering News-Record's Top 100 Green Contractors list but says it expects to learn new information about how to construct even more efficient buildings through the database project.
Earlier this year, Webcor made another green deal with iCrete, a company that claims to reduce the amount of cement needed for construction projects by up to 40 percent -- a significant figure considering cement mixing generates the most greenhouse gas emissions next to fossil-fuel use. Webcor now offers its clients the choice of using iCrete's special cement mixture.
Climate Earth, headquartered in San Francisco, provides carbon accounting services on a subscription basis. It quantifies both direct and indirect carbon emissions from beginning to end of even elaborate supply chains for businesses interested in greening their operations.