April 2026 Luncheon

#asceSTL is proud to partner with the St. Louis Section's Sustainability Committee to host Olivia Paxson at our upcoming Section Luncheon. She will present on An Introduction to Embodied Carbon and How to Reduce it on Typical Structural Projects.

Embodied carbon is a hot topic in the building industry, but how is it defined and what are we supposed to do about it? This presentation will define how embodied carbon appears in structural systems and it will identify ways to reduce it in typical projects. Many current recommendations for structural engineers are vague, rely on material changes, or are cost prohibitive. The goal of this presentation is to highlight specific ways to achieve significant carbon reductions on the typical project, without large cost increases or extra design work. It will break the recommendations into clear, concise guidance, and it will discuss the carbon impacts of reductions in equivalent comparisons. There will be a focus on recent code provisions and industry recommendations. Both design changes and specification language will be addressed. This presentation will challenge typical design standards and will discuss a handful of building materials to target how the average structural engineer can reduce carbon on their projects, so that every project can achieve embodied carbon reductions.

Olivia Paxson, E.I., M.ASCE

Olivia is a Project Engineer at KPFF working towards building a more sustainable future. She received her Bachelors and Masters from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and now resides in St. Louis. She serves as a committee member on the SE2050 SEI Committee, focusing on reduction strategies and encouraging structural engineers around the country to reduce their buildings’ embodied carbon.

At the April 2026 Luncheon, we will also welcome new Life Members!