Dedicated to serious, smart climate action.

Builders for Climate Action is working with builders, designers, developers, policy-makers, researchers and manufacturers to tackle the serious impact of buildings on our climate and work toward real zero carbon buildings.
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We want to offer future generations our best efforts to reign in the worst effects of climate change through smart, coordinated and effective action to address emissions in the sector while building a world that is just and equitable.
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Our Mission

Builders for Climate Action is a social enterprise born to actively transform our building practices to become climate positive as quickly and intelligently as possible.

We want to go beyond “doing less harm” and begin “doing more good.”

We want buildings that help reverse climate change while supporting a society and economy that is just and equitable.

Our Values

Empowerment

We support builders, designers, consultants and policy makers to become climate heroes, meeting or exceeding science-based climate targets

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Transparency

We share our knowledge and resources - and our successes and failures - to advance climate justice

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Systems Thinking

Our work is founded on science and data applied to bring the widest possible benefits to our entire communities

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Practicality

Our solutions must be actionable and replicable

Inclusion

We welcome and seek to include everyone with a stake in a climate positive future and to encourage widespread collaboration across sectors and communities

Determination

We bring perseverance and dedication to our efforts

Meet Our Team...

Jacob Deva Racusin

Chris Magwood

Mélanie Trottier

Lead Embodied Carbon Researcher & BEAM Trainer

Technical Research Advisor

Embodied Carbon Analyst & BEAM Trainer

Jen Feigin

Breanne Belitski

Operations Manager

Embodied Carbon Research Associate

Our Story

Builders for Climate Action is a grassroots organization born to actively transform our practices to become climate positive as quickly and intelligently as possible. 

We did not set out to start an organization or build a tool. Over the past decade, our core team began to notice a major blind spot when it comes to the greenhouse gas emissions from our homes: embodied carbon, or material carbon emissions (MCE). These are the “hidden” emissions generated by the harvesting and manufacturing of building materials. In our own practices, we began to see what a huge impact our material choices were having on the climate and felt compelled to learn more.

Our 2019 study “Low-Rise Buildings as a Climate Solution” established that the annual GHGs arising from the material carbon emissions of home building materials is adding approximately 9 million tonnes of emissions in Canada and 54 million tonnes in the USA. That’s the same as the annual emissions of 13 million cars! Clearly this was an issue that needed to be taken seriously, and quickly. We won’t be able to build real zero carbon homes and meet important climate goals unless we can get these material-related emissions to zero.

That report didn’t just point out the problem, it showed a clear, practical and affordable solution:  reducing the MCE of home building materials AND using building materials that store carbon to make homes with a net zero -- or even net positive -- carbon footprint.

Builders for Climate Action was born out of the overwhelming response to that first study.

Today, our research, tools and resources help to foster collaborative efforts to inspire and enable the sector to become climate heroes, leading the way to decarbonized, healthy and climate positive homes and buildings through innovation that is practical and replicable.

​We're all laying the track as we drive the train toward climate stability... it's going to take all of us getting on board!

We invite you to explore our website resources, link to our partners and collaborators and join the growing movement for a climate smart building industry.

A tool for our times

The carbon footprint of building materials is vast... contributing over 60 million tonnes of greenhouse gases annually, just for low rise residential construction in North America!
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Our BEAM tool helps designers and builders understand the climate impacts of material choices and make buildings with drastically lower emissions. It's even possible to get to zero emissions, or beyond.

learn about beam

We want to thank the following people & organizations for their direct or indirect support:

Ace McArleton
Andy Shapiro
Architecture 2030
Arkin/Tilt Architects
Ashburham Realty
Andrew Himes
Bobby Ilg
Bruce King
Building Alternatives

Christopher Tworkowski, Architects
Carbon Leadership Forum
City of Peterborough
Dwellings Design & Build
Craig White
Ecological Building Network
Embodied Carbon Network
Emily Niehaus
Erin McDade

Fin MacDonald
Fourth Pig Worker Cooperative
Great North Insulation
Jacob Deva Racusin
Jennifer Martin
Kate Simonen
Larry Strain
Lett Architects

Massey Burke
Melinda Zytaruk
New Frameworks
Nori
Ontario Natural Building Coalition
Ryan Zizzo
Stephen Hill
Tim Krahn
Took Tree Passive Homes
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