After recently passing its first anniversary as a public company, construction tech provider Procore is stepping up efforts for its users to track greenhouse gas emissions in construction.
In late April, Procore announced an integration with Building Transparency, a nonprofit seeking to address the construction industry’s role in climate change. The partnership will allow users to utilize the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3).
Having specialty contractors, general contractors and owners—who are ultimately responsible for carbon emissions reporting—all working on embodied carbon through the Procore platform and able to make decisions about materials and processes was the impetus behind the partnership. “It makes a lot of sense,” said Sandra Benson, who joined Procore in late 2021 as its head of industry transformation. “This offering will affect all three of our subsets.”
Before joining Procore, Benson was head of construction, infrastructure and real estate at Amazon.com and is still a board member of the nonprofit National Institute of Building Sciences.
Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Salesforce, along with flooring manufacturer Interface Inc., are on the board of Building Transparency. The nonprofit was founded by Stacy Smedley, Skanska sustainability director. Skanska and Microsoft jointly funded initial development of the EC3.
Benson said that Procore wanted a full data-sharing partnership with Building Transparency rather than just an EC3 integration.
“Our partnership with Procore is a great step forward in educating our industry on the importance of reducing embodied carbon emissions and the tools already available to do so,” Smedley, who is also executive director of Building Transparency, said in a statement.
Procore CEO Tooey Courtemanche said the partnership reinforces Procore’s mission of better informing users.
“Data is a massive asset and, frankly, the foundation of all we can do to give back to the industry,” he told ENR .
Also in late April, Procore hired Joy Driscoll Durling as its first-ever chief data officer, another hire aimed at better helping the industry use its data. Durling built data-driven cultures at Adobe and Vivint.
“That’s where we’re going to spend a lot of time and energy,” Courtemanche said. “She’s going to have a massive impact and help us see this vision through where we connect everyone on a global platform.”