Closing the Circle: Data, Materials, and the Path to a Carbon-Neutral Built Environment

C.Scale will host a presentation at AIASF unpacking the climate opportunity that a maturing data landscape brings to close the circle from design to intent to material outcomes.

The global building stock is set to double by 2060. Building materials already account for nearly 15% of global carbon emissions. The decisions made in the next five years will either accelerate decarbonization or lock in unsustainable emissions growth.

For the first time, the architecture and construction industry is generating high-resolution data on material selection at the moment those decisions are made. Climate commitments and compliance requirements are digitizing a $1.4T materials market. The gap between ambition and action is closing.

This panel brings together leaders across the supply chain — manufacturers, certifiers, technology platforms, and design practitioners — to discuss how AI and real-time data are reshaping material procurement, where the technology gaps still sit, and how connecting climate goals to construction outcomes delivers better buildings for everyone.

Panelists:

Jack Rusk — Co-Founder & CEO, C.Scale (Moderator)

Lindsay Baker — CEO, Living Future

Mikhail Davis — Director of Global Market Sustainability, Interface

To Be Confirmed — Senior Sustainability Lead, major AEC technology leader

Schedule:

8:00 AM — Doors open. Coffee and pastries hosted by [Sponsor TBC]

9:00 AM — Panel discussion and Q&A

10:00 AM — Open networking

1 LU (Pending)

After attending this program, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the compliance frameworks and climate commitments — including LEED v4/v5, the AIA 2030 Commitment, and state-level embodied carbon regulations — that are driving mandatory whole building life cycle assessment in architectural practice.
2. Analyze Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to compare the carbon intensity of structural and envelope materials and predict the downstream emissions consequences of specification decisions.
3. Explain how digital platforms and AI tools are enabling real-time carbon intelligence at the point of material specification, and describe the workflow implications for architectural practice.
4. Describe the supply-side economics of low-carbon building products, including the cost drivers behind EPD production and the market conditions that affect availability of low-carbon alternatives in project specifications.

 C.Scale is a multi-sided  platform connecting architects, engineers, owners, and contractors with building product manufacturers to turn low-carbon design intent into material outcomes. C.Scale’s workflow tools to measure the impact of material choices in a whole-building context are widely used today by architects to define climate strategy and then optimize material choices from the very beginning on projects and across portfolios.