AECOM & One Click LCA drive low carbon, climate-resilient solutions for the City of Montréal

AECOM, a global leader in infrastructure and professional services, is committed to delivering a better world through sustainable and resilient solutions. In partnership with One Click LCA, AECOM leveraged advanced carbon modeling tools to help the City of Montréal integrate climate goals into the earliest stages of planning for a transformative urban mobility project. 

Case study: An urban mobility redevelopment project for the City of Montréal

When the City of Montréal launched a pilot project to redevelop a major transportation corridor and surrounding district, its vision was clear: create a low carbon, climate-resilient neighborhood aligned with the city’s Climate Plan 2020–2030 and Land Use and Mobility Plan 2050. Over a five-year horizon, the project included a new overpass, mixed-use buildings, improved mobility infrastructure, and a park designed for people-centered living.

To achieve these goals, the city engaged AECOM to compare and evaluate two preliminary design scenarios with three core goals:

1. Lower the overall carbon footprint through life cycle analysis of key components, such as buildings, roads, and public spaces.
2. Strengthen climate resilience by understanding how infrastructure can adapt to future climate conditions.
3. Support informed decision-making through data-driven recommendations that align with the city's climate and mobility plans.

Since the project was still in the pre-design phase, detailed specifications and Bills of Materials were not available. The city needed reliable carbon estimates to compare two different design concepts, understand carbon interactions between infrastructure and buildings, and ensure the design direction aligned with its climate, urban, and mobility objectives — all before final designs were completed. 

AECOM integrated One Click LCA's Carbon Designer 3D tool directly into its ScopeXTM decarbonization workflow, unlocking three critical capabilities:

1. Early carbon modeling without detailed material data

   Carbon Designer 3D generated material quantities from preliminary 3D building models using basic dimensions like floor area and building height. These estimates were converted into life cycle carbon impacts for key building elements such as foundations, slabs, façades, and roofs.

2. Rapid scenario testing

   With Carbon Designer 3D, exploring alternative building configurations and structural systems became fast and frictionless. AECOM could see how different design choices influenced embodied carbon. This was critical during the conceptual phase when decisions have the greatest impact on sustainability outcomes.

3. Seamless integration

   The automated generation of material quantities and seamless integration into the One Click LCA life cycle assessment workflow eliminated manual data entry, ensured consistent, reliable analysis, and enabled AECOM to consolidate the distinct LCA models for buildings and infrastructure into a single cohesive analysis within the platform.

The analysis revealed that embodied carbon represented the largest share of emissions, but its magnitude varied significantly by design choice. This insight led to targeted recommendations, including optimized concrete mixes, increased use of recycled steel, and inclusion of environmental product declarations (EPDs).

The modeling approach identified a series of hotspots across the wider scheme, which were then targeted for decarbonization. Scenario modeling showed that seemingly subtle design decisions, such as adjusting roadway width or optimizing the overpass structural configuration, could yield meaningful carbon reductions. These insights informed key decisions early in the design process that supported both decarbonization and cost efficiency.

The City of Montréal embraced the findings, confident in the methodology and ready to advance to the next phase of work. The whole-life carbon analysis not only helped the City compare design options but also provided a strategic roadmap for designing more sustainably as planning progressed.

This project demonstrates how early-stage carbon modeling can transform infrastructure planning. By integrating AECOM’s ScopeX™ approach with One Click LCA’s tools, sustainability became a driver instead of an afterthought. Together, AECOM and One Click LCA helped the City of Montréal reduce uncertainty, strengthen climate alignment, and make better-informed decisions at the moment of greatest influence and least cost.