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Description

C.Scale (formerly the EPIC assessment) is a free, web-based whole-life carbon platform spun out from EHDD to enable climate-positive design decisions in the earliest phases of building and infrastructure projects, when data are scarce but the opportunity for emissions reduction is greatest. Leveraging machine-learning models trained on global building and infrastructure datasets, C.Scale combines region-specific background data, forward-looking carbon projections, and peer-reviewed embodied-carbon factors to deliver rapid “what-if” analyses of massing, materials, and energy strategies. In late 2024, the core EPIC team formed C.Scale as an independent public-benefit corporation—allowing for dedicated development, investor support, and integration into broader decarbonization workflows.

Tool Outcome

By requiring only a minimal set of user inputs—such as project type, approximate size, structural system, and geographic location—C.Scale generates an early-phase whole-life carbon budget and ranks the most impactful reduction strategies against that budget. The platform outputs include:

• Interactive Dashboard: Visual comparisons of embodied versus operational carbon alongside cumulative reduction pathways.

• Strategy Ranking: A prioritized list of measures—such as material reuse, low-carbon assemblies, and on-site renewables—scored by relative impact.

• Downloadable Reports: Summary documents for stakeholder communication, featuring target-setting tables and scenario narratives.

These outcomes guide project teams to set project-level carbon targets, focus on high-impact decisions, and establish a data foundation for more detailed life-cycle assessments as the design matures

Sustainability Criteria

C.Scale is architected to function with the strict minimum of project parameters—akin to “shoebox” energy or daylight models—so that users can swiftly explore a broad suite of carbon-reduction strategies without extensive data collection. While not intended as a replacement for ISO-compliant life-cycle assessments, its outputs identify which strategies are likely to deliver results, which warrant deeper investigation, and which can be deprioritized at early design stages. By democratizing access to whole-life carbon insights via a free, no-login interface, C.Scale lowers barriers for architects, engineers, and planners to embed decarbonization into project inception and across portfolios

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