ASHRAE, in partnership with the International Code Council, has opened a second public review period for the proposed Standard 240P – Quantification of Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Buildings. The draft standard, which sets out a unified approach for calculating both embodied and operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the entire life span of buildings and their sites, is available for public feedback from June 6 through July 21, 2025. Interested parties can view the draft and provide comments at osr.ashrae.org.
Significant updates in this version include clearer definitions aligned with industry language, an updated diagram of life-cycle stages within the system boundary, a revised global warming potential metric switching from GWP-20 to GWP-100, and expanded instructions for assessing embodied GHG emissions.
The standard aims to deliver a coordinated system for building professionals, government bodies, and the financial sector to measure, report, and address GHG emissions.
“Standard 240P is intended to bring clarity and consistency to how we evaluate embodied emissions throughout the building process,” said 2024–25 ASHRAE President M. Dennis Knight, P.E., BEMP, Fellow Life Member. “By working with the International Code Council, we are helping ensure that building professionals have practical, standardized tools for emissions accounting that align with broader industry needs.”
“This standard offers a unified framework for GHG accounting, empowering the building industry and related sectors to work from a common platform to measure and report GHG emissions transparently and across a building’s life cycle,” said Ryan Colker, Executive Director, Energy, Resilience & Innovation for the Code Council. “This kind of cross-sector collaboration with ASHRAE is essential to accelerating the transition to a climate-resilient future.”
To access the draft of Standard 240P and join the public review, visit osr.ashrae.org.