Embodied Carbon Calculator

Embodied carbon represents the total emissions required to produce products (such as building materials), engage in production activities (such as transporting those materials to the construction site), incorporate the products into constructed buildings, replace the products, and dispose of the products. The emissions are considered to be "embodied" (embedded) in the product. Industry and societal goals strive to reduce these emissions, so they need to be measured.

The Vectorworks Embodied Carbon Calculator (VECC) calculates the embodied carbon levels of a project by identifying the volume of applicable objects and applying the values embedded in materials that have been associated with those objects. It provides an integrated modeling and carbon assessment workflow, allowing designers to quickly measure the impact of their material and product choices on the carbon footprint of their project. Materials are automatically recognized by the calculator, where they factor into the calculations.

Currently, the VECC does not distinguish between fossil and biogenic carbon.

In Vectorworks versions prior to 2026, the VECC was only available from a series of worksheets. The worksheets are still available from the list of preformatted reports in the Create Report dialog box (see Using preformatted reports). More information is available from the VECC User Guide PDF.

Construction lifecycle

The VECC defines the typical lifecycle stages of materials and products as follows.

Lifecycle stage	Description
A1-A3	Product stage (Cradle to Gate)
A4	Transport stage (Gate to Site)
A5	Construction
A1-A5	Cradle to Practical Completion
B4	Replacement
B1-B5	Use
B6	Operational Energy
C1	Deconstruction and Demolition
C3-C4	Waste processing for reuse, recovery, or recycling/disposal
C1-C4	End of Life
Whole Life Carbon Assessment	Includes A1-A5, B1-B5, C1-C4, normalized per m2 GIA

Workflow: The Embodied Carbon Calculator 

Difficulty level: Advanced

The Embodied Carbon Calculator provides a total amount of embodied carbon, as well as reports of and views of the categories and participating products/materials from the project throughout the construction life cycle and for the entire life cycle. By being aware of these totals, you can reduce the carbon footprint of your construction project.

Establish the project building area by defining the spaces in the building, and adding any extra area if needed. 

Define the VECC settings for the project, such as default transportation scenarios or replacement categories. 

Early in the project, generic materials can be defined, before materials and building elements are specified as products from a particular manufacturer. For example, in early stages of building design, the facade will consist of "brick," and the interior walls "timber stud finished with gypsum plasterboard."

Embodied carbon calculations of early stage models can be done using default Vectorworks materials in styled objects; the materials already contain the necessary data on embodied carbon factors and density.

Add the Embodied Carbon Sheet framework to plug-in objects from their Preferences or Settings dialog boxes, and enter summary carbon values for the object (later in the project, add components to the objects, with specific materials).

Default Vectorworks materials are tagged with an Embodied Carbon tag, and searching for this keyword in Resource Manager finds all materials containing the necessary data on embodied carbon factors and density.

As the project progresses, add data to model objects which do not have materials by attaching the Embodied Carbon Sheet record format and defining manufacturer carbon information. 

Add walls, slabs, roofs, and other tools which already have predefined carbon and density data in the component materials of the object. 

Advanced stages of design become far more detailed. In the VECC, Categories view and Details view assist you with viewing and editing the design values for each stage of a project's lifecycle. For example, specify the exact brick, timber, and plasterboard products to be sourced and installed. You can replace previously generic materials with specific ones, or update the carbon and density data of the existing material resources with manufacturer values (usually, data from a manufacturer is in the form of an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)). The Manufacturer value check box from the Edit Material dialog box for each material distinguishes between generic embodied carbon values and those coming from EPDs. 

As you modify the project and refresh the data, you'll see the changes to the VECC values in the Sustainability Dashboard. You can assess whole life cycle carbon from the earliest design stages all the way through to the final stages.

Visualize the results in bar chart form, and display results for different lifecycle stages.

Once you've achieved the desired outcome and the project is complete, export the results in spreadsheet format.

VECC Settings

Before using the VECC, establish the default settings to use for the calculations.

The units displayed in the Settings dialog box depend on whether Metric or Imperial is selected from the main VECC dialog box.

To establish the default VECC settings:

Launch the Sustainability Dashboard and select the Embodied Carbon Calculator. See The Sustainability Dashboard.

Click Settings.

The Settings dialog box opens.

Click to show/hide the parameters.Click to show/hide the parameters.

Concept: The Vectorworks Embodied Carbon Calculator

Difficulty level: Advanced

When you access the VECC from the Sustainability Dashboard (see The Sustainability Dashboard), there are three ways of viewing the carbon information: Overview, Categories, and Details.

Click Toggle Tooltips to show or hide tooltips that display the entirety of truncated text when hovering over a stage, row, or column in Categories and Details views.

Overview view

The VECC Overview view includes three tabs:

Total Embodied Carbon: Displays the data from the building components in the file. Space objects define the building area; additional area can be added to the project manually. Elements such as building components (walls, roofs, slabs, windows, doors, etc.), defined materials, and specific criteria contribute to the calculation, as well as objects with the Embodied Carbon Sheet record format attached and defined according to manufacturer values.

Analysis: Displays the embodied carbon in graphical form, with amounts for the materials, products, and custom entries defined in the Details view and categories from Categories view. 

The graph shows the Whole Life Cycle (WLC) totals by default; click Display Data to select a different project life cycle stage to display.

You can display the analysis as a graph of volume (quantity) vs. embodied carbon, or as total embodied carbon.

Select whether to include carbon from concept design categories or planning/pre-tender categories, or materials, products, or both.

RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge: Displays the embodied carbon and the operational energy for the project according to various Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 2030 challenge benchmarks. Select the appropriate Reference Building Type from the list.

Categories view

The VECC Categories view displays the same data as the Details view, but it is organized by building element category rather than material.

The Categories view is organized in columns according to the project's cycles. Click the desired life cycle stage (on the left) to open its stage sub-modules (on the right), and then click on a stage sub-module to view the sub-module's calculations. Click Total to view the Whole Life Cycle calculation for the categories.

Each stage includes two methods of listing aggregated quantity, weight, and embodied carbon for each set of categories. Categories break down the project values based on the element category of the building that the objects belong to, such as substructure, superstructure, finishes, electrical installations, etc. This is further broken down in the planning/pre-tender view. Hover over the description column for a category to see the entire description (when Tooltips are enabled).

Concept design: Displays a top level, less detailed view of the element categories and their data. 

Planning/pre-tender: Displays a more granular view of the element categories broken down into their sub-elements. Only the elements display the data.

If you set up category materials and criteria in Concept design view, the rules do not carry over to Planning/pre-tender view, since the sub-categories need to be defined.

Specifying category materials and criteria

The objects included in the categories need to meet the criteria and selected materials. Edit the materials and criteria to refine the objects included in the categories.

To edit a category:

Click one of the following:

 Edit category materials: Opens the Manage List dialog box, to assign and remove specific materials from the category. Edits are synced with the Details view.

The Materials tab lists all the materials found in the file; selected materials participate in the calculation per unit for objects which use the material. Select all by clicking or deselect all by clicking . Search for a material by entering text in the search box to filter the list.

The Materials by Style tab lists the materials grouped by plug-in object types. Search for a style by entering text in the search box to filter the list. If you manage the materials by style, the material information added to the style returns the values, and the calculation occurs per unit for objects which use the style.

 Edit category criteria: Opens the Criteria dialog box, for specifying the criteria that define the category. See The Criteria dialog box.

Click OK to return to the edited Category view. Click Recalculate.

Click List of the objects  for each category/element to list the drawing objects defined by the selected materials and corresponding criteria; these will participate in the embodied carbon calculations. These objects have default carbon data defined or an Embodied Carbon Sheet record attached. 

 An object cannot be calculated twice; if a category contains objects that are already included in another category, a warning indicator displays on the list icon. The objects are highlighted in red. (Different materials from the same object may be used across multiple categories.) The category will need to be edited to change the selected materials and/or the selection criteria, to avoid counting an object more than once.

Details view

The VECC Details view displays the same data as the Categories view, but it is organized by material rather than category.

The Details view is organized in columns according to the project's cycles. Click the desired life cycle stage (on the left) to open its stage sub-modules (on the right), and then click on a stage sub-module to view the sub-module's calculations. Click Total to view the Whole Life Cycle calculation for the materials or products.

Click List of objects to view the drawing objects that are included for each row.

For materials in Details view, the Unit selected for the Embodied Carbon parameter on the Physical tab of the Edit Material dialog box should be set to kgCO₂e/kg for proper display of density and weight. The EC Factor Unit needs to be set consistently as well, for proper aggregation of product rows; otherwise, products with the same name but different units appear in separate rows.

Each stage includes two tabs:

Materials: Lists the materials from the project to be included in the embodied carbon calculations, along with its category ID and embodied carbon parameters, displayed in columns. The materials in the list are organized by Generic and Manufacturer type; this is determined by the Manufacturer value option on the Physical tab of the Edit Material dialog box for each material.

Click Edit Material to open the Edit Material dialog box, to edit the material's parameters. 

Click Remove from List to delete one or more materials from the list of materials to be included in the embodied carbon calculations.

Click Manage List to open the Manage List dialog box, to select the materials to include in the calculations. Edits are synced with the Categories view.

The Materials tab lists all the materials found in the file; selected materials participate in the calculation per unit for objects which use the material. Select all by clicking or deselect all by clicking . Search for a material by entering text in the search box to filter the list.

The Materials by Style tab lists the materials grouped by plug-in object types. Search for a style by entering text in the search box to filter the list. If you manage the materials by style, the material information added to the style returns the values, and the calculation occurs per unit for objects which use the style.

Products: Lists the objects from the project to be included in the embodied carbon calculations. These objects have an Embodied Carbon Sheet record attached and they are defined with embodied carbon parameters, as displayed in the columns for each product.

The VECC

To use the VECC:

Create the building gross internal area for the project by adding spaces to the project. If needed, additional area can be specified in the VECC.

Create the appropriate objects that make up the project.

For a preliminary design, use geometry such as extrudes, tapered extrudes, generic solids, etc. and use materials. You can also create symbols and attach the Embodied Carbon Sheet record format. The sustainability record formats are located in the Libraries\Defaults folder in the Record Formats\Sustainability file. See Attaching record formats to a symbol instance or object for information on how to attach records to objects.

For a more advanced design, use tools like the Wall, Slab, Hardscape, Curb, the Create Roof command, and more. Many of these plug-in objects have components that include materials which participate in the VECC calculations.

You can also attach the Embodied Carbon Sheet record format to windows, doors, and other parts of the building.

Set the appropriate values (including manufacturer values) for the carbon calculations for the objects. To open the Embodied Carbon Sheet Editor dialog box, do one of the following:

For objects with the Embodied Carbon Sheet record attached, click Edit Sustainability Data from the Data tab of the Object Info palette.

For certain plug-in objects without materials, click Settings from the Object Info palette, and open the Sustainability pane. Click New Framework. For the Framework, select Embodied Carbon Sheet, and then click Edit Framework.

Use the Eyedropper tool to pick up data from one object with an attached record and drop it onto other, similar ones. For larger projects, save the sustainability settings of plug-in objects as a style. You can also use the Data Manager to attach the record as a criteria-based object.

For plug-in objects with materials specified in components, no further editing is needed unless you want to edit the material parameters. If you do, skip to step 5.

From the Embodied Carbon Sheet Editor dialog box, specify the parameters related to the embodied carbon.

Click to show/hide the parameters.Click to show/hide the parameters.

For advanced designs where you might need to specify or edit the default embodied carbon parameters for materials used in components, identify the materials to edit from the components list, and then locate them in the Resource Manger. Right-click on the material resource to edit, and select Edit to open the Edit Material dialog box (you can also access the Edit Material dialog box from the Sustainability Dashboard, by clicking on the icon next to the material in Details view). Click on the Physical tab, where you can edit the Embodied Carbon value. If the value is from manufacturer's EPD data, select Manufacturer value. You can also edit the Density if needed. Once you click OK, any object styles that use the material are updated with the new embodied carbon value. The VECC will use the new value when you click Recalculate.

In the Sustainability Dashboard, the building gross internal area and current embodied carbon calculations display. Select participating layers. As you add more spaces and objects to the design, or edit embodied carbon values, click Recalculate; the dashboard indicates the results. See The Sustainability Dashboard.

You can toggle between Metric and Imperial units from any view.

Once you have achieved a design with required results, click Export to create a report that can be submitted or shared with an expert for review.

The Sustainability Dashboard

Concept: Records, reports, and schedules

Editing materials

Using preformatted reports