An analysis of two proposed CO ₂ calculation protocols for buildings

Recently a host of initiatives have been launched to help the U.S. tackle reductions in carbon emissions. Unfortunately, for organizations attempting to use these systems there is a lack of proven tools to help them understand if they are on track to achieving such goals. To resolve this dilemma, two organizations have embarked on developing a national green building standard. At the heart of both of these proposed standards are energy sections that will use CO ₂ as the basis for their respective calculations. The paper will review how both CO ₂ calculation protocols evolved and how they both will operate in practice. The paper will conclude with an example of how a building would actually use both of these protocols. In particular, an example will be generated to illustrate how a building using a non-renewable fuel will compare with the same building using renewable energy. Results will suggest that renewables will be critical in any attempt to achieve carbon-neutral buildings. Thus CO ₂ calculation protocols will become an important new tool for promoting renewable energy technologies and one that needs to be understood by the renewable energy community.