Calculate Your Footprint

Words: Dan KamysOctober 2008

Green Building

A free online calculator helps manufacturers quickly assess their products' carbon output, allowing them to take steps to greener goods. The LCA Calculator service provides a complete product life cycle assessment. It evaluates issues such as types and amounts of material used in production, location of manufacture, materials processing, energy consumption of the product, where and how it is transported, and its final disposition. The service was developed by Industrial Design Consultancy following the results of a survey of designers and engineers working in product development. The survey revealed that half of companies interviewed admitted that the environmental impact of a product was not currently a major design consideration, but 82 percent believed it would be in the future. Although 61 percent indicated awareness of life cycle assessment as a process to calculate a product's carbon footprint, only 29 percent believed their company had every carried one out during design. The calculator provides a detailed report with recommendations for improvement. It is available at http://www.lcacalculator.com.Return to Table of Contents
About: Side Story
The Return of Restraint: How "Quiet Luxury" Is Influencing Masonry Design
November 2026

For years, exterior design seemed to follow a familiar cycle: bigger statements, bolder contrasts, and whatever trend happened to dominate social media that season. Today, many customers are asking for something different. They're asking for homes that fe

Chad Riley
Stone Savvy
Sponsored
Read More
Rent or Buy? Making Smarter Mixer Equipment Decisions
November 2026

For masonry contractors, deciding whether to rent or purchase a concrete or mortar mixer involves more than comparing rental rates with purchase prices. Equipment availability, crew productivity, maintenance, and frequency of use can all influence the lon

Abigail Spung Allyssa Costanza
MAP Partner
Read More
Bonding with Masonry 2026: Q4
November 2026

This issue’s questions come from an Engineer and a Masonry Inspector. What questions do you have? Send them to info@masonrymagazine.com, attention: Technical Talk. Q. An Engineer states that he attended a seminar and was told that to design reinforced

David Biggs
Technical Talks
Read More
Hohmann & Barnard, Inc. Returns as a Cornerstone Partner in 2027
November 2026

The Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) is thrilled to announce that Hohmann & Barnard, Inc. will return as a Cornerstone Partner in the 2027 Masonry Alliance Program.

MAP Partner
MAP Partner
Read More