Turning verifiable sustainability into ROI: How P3I uses One Click LCA

As pressure mounts for the built environment ecosystem to decarbonize, the ability to demonstrate the environmental, social, and financial impacts of sustainable practices is becoming critical to all project stakeholders, especially investors. A 2023 study by Deloitte and The Fletcher School at Tufts University found that investors are increasingly prioritizing clear, consistent, and reliable sustainability data when making decisions. Whether the audience is investors, board members, or design teams, earning trust through reliable data and credible baselines is essential to driving sustainable initiatives forward.

That's why P3I.GLOBAL built the foundation of their P3I Platform, on trusted One Click LCA data. The P3I Platform was created to help decision-makers in the built environment accelerate the adoption of proven, generationally responsible best practices, the kind that deliver measurable value today while safeguarding resources, climate, and community wellbeing for future generations. By qualifying, quantifying, and monetizing market data, it translates environmental, social, and financial performance into tangible results. Over time, the P3I Platform has evolved into a stakeholder portal that raises awareness of sustainability opportunities, supports professional and organizational learning, and connects users with practical pathways for action.

Using LCA data to quantify ESG impact in the built environment

The P3I Platform links environmental impact directly to asset valuation, life-cycle cost, and regulatory risks, shifting sustainability from mere legal compliance at the lowest possible cost to a strategic investment decision. 

"With the support of One Click LCA, the P3I Platform is building the highest level of trust by providing increasingly granular data that demonstrates value across environmental, social, and financial dimensions. Our goal is to help manufacturers of sustainable assets attract smart investment, creating safer, healthier, and more prosperous places for everyone."

— David MacLean, Founder of P3I.GLOBAL and Partner of ESG IMPACTS

Within the dashboard, users can model buildings, communities, or ecosystems using marketplace-representative baselines powered by One Click LCA data. Each model draws on verified, constructable, and code-compliant scenarios, allowing users to test better and best practices and instantly see their quantified impacts.

The integration of One Click LCA’s environmental and cost data enables P3I to translate design decisions into measurable outcomes. This same data allows users to distinguish how benefits, or trade-offs, are distributed across asset owners, occupants, and surrounding communities.

By grounding all analyses in One Click LCA’s datasets, the P3I Platform gives any stakeholder the ability to explore the carbon footprint, cost, and value implications of design choices with confidence and consistency.

By incorporating reference buildings and design options from One Click LCA's Carbon Designer 3D tool, the P3I Platform provides transparent, location-specific material data and minimum-code life-cycle assessment (LCA) models. These models are tied to local construction opportunities and the lowest first-cost minimum code, ensuring that decisions are both practical and actionable.

Creating reliable baselines to build a financial case for sustainable design

Carbon Designer 3D — an educational, evidence-based tool within One Click LCA’s suite —  generates building models in seconds, making it ideal for early-stage carbon optimization. It’s often used at the briefing stage to set design targets for clients, investors, and project teams, identifying “low-hanging fruit” and key focus areas.

For the P3I Platform, Carbon Designer 3D was used to  create baselines initially for marketplace-representative office and school models. This process ensures ongoing model upkeep and additional model type inclusion in the P3I Platform. A key aspect of the tool was building consistency while developing the models. P3I.GLOBAL and One Click LCA’s experts worked closely to refine the “Planet” baseline model and align it with “People” and “Profit” models, linking carbon, social, and financial impacts. 

The Bill of Quantities (BoQ) and material list generated in Carbon Designer 3D were aligned with existing BoQ and material data for a code-compliant building in Texas. Through an iterative process, numerous elements were reviewed — from geometry and materials to mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP) systems — to ensure the baseline model was representative of real-world projects in the target market.

“We deliberately used ‘off-the-shelf’ materials and solutions because 99% of the construction market needs practical, low-barrier changes they can actually implement."

— Leonardo Poli, LCA Expert at One Click LCA

Once the baseline was in place, the P3I Platform and One Click LCA developed “better” and “best” practices scenarios, both aligned with the 3Ps: Planet, People, and Profit.

The “better” model followed the upcoming LEED v5 scope, focusing on foundations, frame, and envelope, with improvements measured through whole-building LCA. This scenario achieved whole-life carbon reductions of 13% for the office model and 10% for the school model. However, LEED alone does not capture the full range of opportunities.

The “best” model went further — reducing impacts in Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment (FF&E), optimizing replacement cycles, and lowering MEP capacity. These measures achieved an additional ~3.5% carbon reduction over the “better” model and around 16% compared to the baseline, all with widely available solutions.

Crucially, the quantitative results for each scenario were clearly visualized in the platform, making it easy to see where reductions came from and the financial ROI. The takeaway is clear: even with readily available solutions, substantial carbon savings are possible.

The benefits of Carbon Design 3D

With the Carbon Designer 3D tool, users can:

• Create credible baselines and LCAs in seconds
• Identify carbon hotspots and break down results by materials and building parts
• Compare design scenarios such as retention vs. demolition/rebuilding, renovation vs. new build, to identify the most cost-effective decarbonization strategy
• Fill gaps in material data using One Click LCA’s historical datasets by merging Carbon Designer 3D data with BIM model data
• Model existing building portfolio for emission estimates 
• For manufacturers, it shows how products perform against industry averages

This speed and granularity allow decision-makers, especially investors, to assess both opportunities and risks with confidence. In regions with circularity requirements or volatile supply chains, the tool also helps evaluate the carbon impacts of reusing building stock, estimating refurbishment quantities, and planning expansions early in the process. 

By using One Click LCA's Carbon Designer 3D to develop the P3I Platform, sustainability data becomes more detailed, reliable, and actionable by building trust with a wide range of stakeholders.. This transforms sustainability from an aspirational goal into a strategic, financially sound investment decision grounded in verified, location-specific LCA data.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How can sustainability in construction create financial returns?

Sustainable construction can improve financial performance by reducing whole-life carbon, operational costs, and regulatory risks while increasing asset value and investor confidence. When verified life-cycle assessment (LCA) data links environmental outcomes to financial metrics, sustainability becomes a strategic investment rather than a cost.

2. How can LCA data be used to measure ESG impact in construction projects?

LCA data quantifies environmental impacts such as embodied and operational carbon, which can then be linked to social and financial outcomes. This allows project teams to show how specific design decisions affect life-cycle costs, regulatory compliance, and community benefits, providing a measurable foundation for ESG reporting.

3. How can early-stage carbon modeling support investment decisions?

Early-stage carbon modeling provides rapid, location-specific estimates of embodied carbon and cost, allowing project teams to identify cost-effective design improvements before major decisions are locked in. This helps investors assess potential returns, manage risk, and prioritize low-carbon opportunities with real financial upside.