Construction carbon database holds data on 250,000 products

Screengrab of One Click LCA’s Materials Compass (Image: One Click LCA)

The new database, called Materials Compass, from sustainability platform One Click LCA, allows designers, engineers and specifiers to assess the environmental impact of these different products and select those with lower carbon footprints.

It comes after One Click LCA conducted a global 2024 study that found that up to 90% of construction professionals see insufficient product environmental data as an impediment to selecting lower-carbon materials in their projects.

The company has calculated that carbon emissions can be up to one-third lower if people select the lowest-carbon materials available, as compared to the highest-carbon options.

Panu Pasanen, the CEO & Founder of One Click LCA, said “We want to embed decarbonisation into the design and construction process, instead of it being an afterthought. Materials Compass brings all the global EPDs together for designers, buyers, and specifiers. This makes finding and choosing lower-carbon and sustainable materials easy.”

Jani Tierala, head of LCA Data at One Click LCA added, “Our goal is to integrate all qualifying construction material data, including EPD, CFP, TM65, and generic datasets, as soon as it’s available worldwide. All data undergoes a rigorous quality review by our experts, who leverage AI-based and proprietary tools. Where industry data is lacking, we also produce high-quality generic LCA data for key materials like concrete, steel, wood, glass, plastics, and textiles.”