The Hammer Episode #78: Reduce Complexity to Reduce Carbon.
September 14, 2026
Calculating the embodied carbon of a building is a process of adding up all the inputs. So it follows that the more inputs there are, the more opportunities there are to increase a project’s global warming potential and make the project less sustainable. Not a big concern for most projects today, but soon will be as code authorities move closer and closer to limiting the allowable GWP of new builds and renovations. As a building science expert working for Canadian spray foam manufacturer, Elastochem, Rocky Boyor has taken a deep dive into these issues and realized that each layer in a wall assembly adds multiple sources of carbon that often aren’t counted, but might be under a strict GWP-limiting regime. He brings the receipts with a story about a project where his company was able to eliminate three of five wall layers in a heritage retrofit by using spray foam insulation, thereby eliminating the carbon contribution of materials, transportation, installation and replacement for dozens of wall components.
