WCAP Part II: Climbing the mechanical mountain to net zero carbon
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In this second part of a series on IMEG's 2026 Whole Carbon Action Plan, host Joe Payne and guest Lindsay Chappelle, a senior sustainability and energy engineer, dive into the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) components of achieving net zero carbon. The discussion centers on IMEG’s participation in the MEP 2040 initiative—a firm-wide commitment to achieve net zero operational carbon by 2030 and net zero embodied carbon by 2040. Lindsay shares insights from the MEP 2040 pilot program, where IMEG analyzed a seven-story multifamily building in Seattle, revealing challenges in data consistency due to varying Revit modeling practices and incomplete component documentation. She emphasizes the critical need for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) from manufacturers to accurately measure embodied carbon, comparing the current lack of transparency to missing nutritional labels on food. On the operational side, the team uses energy modeling in DesignIL to track emissions and is developing automated tools to assess refrigerant leakage across systems like VRF versus heat pumps. The episode underscores the importance of data transparency, client engagement, and industry-wide collaboration to drive measurable progress toward carbon neutrality.
MEP systems have historically lacked accurate embodied carbon data, but initiatives like MEP 2040 are changing that through pilot programs and standardized measurement.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are essential for transparency in material and equipment carbon footprints—currently underutilized and often unknown to vendors.
Automated tools that integrate with Revit and DesignIL can enable real-time carbon tracking during design, empowering engineers to make low-carbon decisions.
Refrigerant emissions are a unique category requiring lifecycle leakage calculations, with system type (e.g., VRF vs. heat pumps) significantly impacting environmental impact.
Client engagement is key—educating stakeholders on carbon impacts across embodied, operational, and refrigerant emissions is critical for driving sustainable design.
Introduction to the MEP 2040 Initiative and IMEG's Role
“MEP 2040 is the MEP firm's commitment to be net zero operational carbon by 2030 and net zero embodied carbon by 2040, or at least advocate for those items.”
Lessons from the MEP 2040 Pilot Program
“Nobody builds their Revit model the same. And we had to work very closely with our engineers in order to determine what was actually in that Revit model.”
The Critical Role of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
“We're used to looking at a Snickers bar or whatever and it's got how many calories. In some cases, now we're looking at a diffuser and there's no... We don't know how many calories in it. We don't know how much carbon is in it, right?”
Tracking Operational Carbon and Refrigerant Emissions
Lindsay explains how IMEG tracks operational carbon through energy modeling in DesignIL and addresses the unique challenge of refrigerant leakage. She emphasizes the need for automated tools and client education to drive sustainable outcomes.
“We're used to looking at a Snickers bar or whatever and it's got how many calories. In some cases, now we're looking at a diffuser and there's no... We don't know how many calories in it. We don't know how much carbon is in it, right?”
“MEP 2040 is the MEP firm's commitment to be net zero operational carbon by 2030 and net zero embodied carbon by 2040, or at least advocate for those items.”
“It's hard to make it better. It's hard to achieve the goals if we can't measure what we're trying to achieve.”
Host
Guest
Lindsay Chappelle
person
IMEG
organization
MEP 2040
other
EPD
other
Revit
product
DesignIL
product
Skylar
other
LG
brand
SE 2050
other
AIA 2030
other
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