Chris Magwood
Manager, Carbon Free Buildings Rocky Mountain Institute
Chris Magwood is working to help create a world where buildings are a leading part of the climate solution instead of a major contributor to climate change and doing so in a way that makes the world more equitable, healthy, beautiful, and efficient.
In 2022, Chris joined the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Carbon-Free Buildings team where he leads work on bio-based and carbon-storing materials and products. He is co-author of the 2025 report: Building with Biomass and is the lead developer of the C-CLIMB Methodology for Time-Explicit Climate Interpretation of Carbon Storage and Release from Building Products.
Chris has authored seven books on sustainable building. His latest book, Building Beyond Zero: New Ideas for Carbon-Smart Architecture, is co-authored with Bruce King and published by Island Press.
Seminars
- Using the C-CLIMB methodology to evaluate the climate impact of long-lived, carbonstoring materials for more informed material selection and design decisions
- Moving from carbon accounting to climate-informed decision-making, leveraging EPDs, climate impact data, and project case studies to support delivery certainty
- Exploring why carbon storage remains one of the most unresolved questions in LCA and why the building sector has struggled to communicate carbon storage benefits consistently
