Analyze Scenarios

Analyze scenarios using the following charts in the This Scenario tab.

Emissions Over Time

This figure describes the cumulative carbon emissions of a building over time. As a chart of cumulative emissions, the height of the bar in each year is the total emissions associated with the building up to and including that year rather than only the emissions associated with that year.

This figure shows cumulative emissions over time. Looking at effects over time facilitates an understanding of how different carbon emission reduction strategies perform over a building's lifetime.

For definitions of chart elements (Reduction from Baseline, Net Emissions, Biogenic Carbon Storage, Climate Positive Threshold, etc.), see the Glossary.

Hover over a bar to see the emissions summary for that year. This is useful for checking how your project performs against time-based targets (e.g. a 2030 net zero target). Hover over the final year to see total emissions across the analysis period. Note that these numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred and may not sum to net emissions in all cases.

Emissions by Scope Category

This chart breaks down the building's contribution to operational carbon emissions (B6), embodied carbon emissions (A1-A3, A4-A5, B1, B2-B5, C1-C4, D), and biogenic carbon storage by scope category. This figure represents the total cumulative emissions associated with the scenario across the entire analysis period.

When comparing C.Scale results to wbLCA results at later project phases, use this breakdown to confirm whether your design is within the carbon budget for a particular scope category.

This figure shows total emissions by scope category. Comparing the relative contribution of each scope category can help in identifying the largest contributors and targeting reduction strategies accordingly.

For definitions of each life cycle stage (A1-A3, A4-A5, B1, B2-B5, B6, C1-C4, D), see Goal and Scope.

Emissions by Life Cycle Stage

This chart breaks down the building's contribution to operational carbon emissions (B6), embodied carbon emissions (A1-A3, A4-A5, B1, B2-B5, C1-C4, D), and biogenic carbon storage by LCA stage. This figure represents the total cumulative emissions associated with the scenario across the entire analysis period.

When comparing C.Scale results to wbLCA results at later project phases, use this breakdown to confirm whether your design is within the carbon budget for a particular LCA stage.

This figure shows total emissions by LCA stage. Comparing the relative contribution of each LCA stage can help in identifying when emissions occur in the lifecycle and targeting reduction strategies accordingly.

The scope categories shown are: Energy Use, Structure, Enclosure, Interior, Services, Refrigerants, Sitework, Jobsite, and Biogenic Carbon Storage. These correspond to the building components and processes covered by C.Scale's whole life carbon model.

Emissions Summary

This donut chart displays the proportional relationship of the scenario's emissions over the analysis period.

The Total emissions bar chart and a tabular summary of the scenario's emissions.

See the Glossary for definitions of all chart elements.