All posts by Kate Zeile

^{Photo courtesy of ESRI.}

What comes to mind when you think of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)?

Maybe some of the latest beautifully crafted New York Times maps, like the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election Results map or the constantly updated map that tracks the Coronavirus Outbreak in the United States. Or maybe you recently used Google Maps to navigate to a new take-out restaurant to shake things up during quarantine. Out of all the examples that come to mind, I can almost guarantee that green building isn’t at the top of your list. However, GIS is an increasingly important tool for the green building industry, and it has huge potential for future growth.

One of the biggest buzzwords in the green building industry right now is carbon, and for good reason. Carbon is, after all, inextricably linked to the greatest threat faced by humankind: the climate crisis. Though very simple when taken at face value, carbon has a lot of intricacies as it relates to the green building industry. From embodied carbon to net zero carbon to carbon sequestration, the variations are endless! Let’s dive deep into the vast world of carbon and define these terms.