Embodied Carbon Pilot Program

Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency (CASR) is launching an Embodied Carbon Pilot Program! 

As part of the pilot program, Denver is providing project support and funding for new commercial projects. These projects will become case studies outlining best practices, lessons learned, current market readiness, and recommendations moving forward. 

Outlined below is the application process, program purpose, project considerations, and project eligibility, followed by the organization information and project information.

Prior to applying, we encourage your team to visit the Embodied Carbon Pilot webpage with program information, including a review of the Pilot Program Guidebook. Please reach out to mckenzie.glass@denvergov.org with any questions.

Application Process & Relevant Deadlines

• Applications for this round of funding will open on November 3, 2025
• Applications for this round of funding will close on December 2, 2025

We have streamlined our pilot program processes and are now working with a third-party administrator, APTIM. If awarded, your contract will be held by APTIM. Successful applicants will be notified of their award after the review period. Denver is expecting to award (3) projects in 2025 and additional projects in 2026 pending the availability of funding.

The review period is expected to happen from December 2, 2025 - December 18, 2025

Once a project is selected for the pilot program, project deliverables must be met throughout the duration of the project at specified milestones.

Purpose

The goal of this funding is to do the following:
 

• Reduce the global warming potential of building materials and identify gaps in regional market data
• Identify potential strategies to realize embodied carbon reductions from industry average values
• Measure and reduce the embodied carbon throughout the life cycle of a building
• Understand the feasibility of embodied carbon intensity limits assigned to specific building types
• Support key players in the building industry to reduce embodied carbon through:

                    - tracking job site carbon emissions

                    - creating additional material transparency

                    - procuring new low-embodied carbon materials

                    - advancing circular economy practices

                    - designing more efficient buildings

 
 Project Considerations

This program will highlight and explore project types and design practices that are representative of local conditions and demonstrate what is possible to implement in Denver. Denver is evaluating prospective projects based on the following considerations:

• Construction type
• Materials used 
• Building use variety in program 
• Embodied carbon reduction potential  
• Cost effectiveness of identified methodology 
• Project team experience with embodied carbon reporting
• Innovation Equity Priority Buildings (EPB) qualification (see CASR webpage for more details)

Eligibility

Projects must meet the following criteria to be eligible for this program: 

• Located in the City and County of Denver
• New commercial building project
• Planned to be at least 25,000 square feet 
• In the Schematic Design Phase
• Projects may still be considered during the Design Development Phase, if they meet the Schematic Design criteria, outlined in Part 2 of the Guidebook.

Organizations applying for this funding must provide the following:

• W9
• Certificate of Good Standing from the Colorado from the Colorado Secretary of State, dated within the last 30 days
• Certificate of Insurance