WCAP Part III: The structural trail to net zero carbon by 2050

About this episode

Laura Hagan discusses IMEG's efforts to tackle embodied carbon in structural systems as part of their Whole Carbon Action Plan.

In the final installment of a three-part series on IMEG’s 2026 Whole Carbon Action Plan (WCAP), senior sustainability and energy engineer Laura Hagan discusses how the company is tackling embodied carbon in structural systems. IMEG’s carbon reduction journey began four years ago when the firm became a signatory to SE 2050, the structural engineering industry’s initiative to eliminate embodied carbon in structures by the year 2050. That original structural-focused plan has evolved into IMEG’s broader WCAP, which now also incorporates MEP and infrastructure disciplines. Laura, who also is a structural engineer, says SE 2050 “is a great program to be a part of because it really challenges us to be accountable for how we are designing and how we are trying to reduce embodied carbon.” Critical to this effort is first being able to measure the carbon impacts across IMEG’s large national project portfolio. “We are in the process of trying to figure out what our designs mean in terms of carbon emissions,” Laura says. “Unfortunately, with the size of IMEG, it's not possible for us to do a whole building lifecycle assessment on every project the firm designs. So instead, we are using…

People in this episode

Guest: Laura Hagan

Topics covered

• sustainability
• carbon reduction
• structural engineering
• embodied carbon
• Whole Carbon Action Plan

Keywords

• net zero carbon
• structural systems
• carbon emissions
• material schedules
• global warming potential

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: IMEG Corp., SE 2050

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