WCAP Part II: Climbing the mechanical mountain to net zero carbon

About this episode

This episode discusses IMEG's mechanical engineering decarbonization efforts as part of their Whole Carbon Action Plan.

IMEG’s mechanical engineering decarbonization efforts take center stage in this episode, the second in a three-part series on the firm’s 2026 Whole Carbon Action Plan (WCAP). Guest Lindsey Chappelle, an IMEG senior sustainability & energy engineer, explains that the mechanical component of the plan aligns with MEP 2040, the industry-wide mechanical decarbonization initiative. “This is the MEP firms’ commitment to be net zero operational carbon on projects by 2030 and net zero embodied carbon by 2040,” she says. “IMEG is a signatory of MEP 2040 and we have produced our mechanical plan, which has been incorporated into the Whole Carbon Action Plan.” As with the WCAP’s structural and infrastructure initiatives, the plan lays out the goals, tasks, tools, and strategies for reducing and eventually eliminating operational carbon emissions (due to mechanical systems), embodied carbon of the mechanical equipment, and the carbon due to refrigerant leakage associated with certain HVAC systems. “Refrigerants are kind of weird. They don’t really fall into embodied carbon or operational carbon,” Lindsey says. “They’re kind of their own item.” Refrigerants, however, can have a sizeable…

People in this episode

Guest: Lindsey Chappelle

Topics covered

• decarbonization
• mechanical engineering
• sustainability
• HVAC systems
• carbon emissions

Keywords

• net zero carbon
• operational carbon
• embodied carbon
• refrigerant leakage
• sustainability

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: IMEG Corp, MEP 2040, Whole Carbon Action Plan

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