Constructing new buildings and sites with the least possible environmental impact involves three important steps: reduce, renew and offset. Offsetting means calculating the project's carbon footprint so it can be balanced by funding resources or activities like renewable energy and land protection — resources that benefit and protect the planet.

This tool estimates the embodied energy and subsequent carbon amounts released during construction. The measurements account for building materials, processes and carbon released due to ecosystem degradation or sequestered through landscape installation or restoration.