The City of Nelson received the Public Sector Leadership Award at the 2026 Carbon Leadership Forum B.C. Embodied Carbon Awards for its work reducing greenhouse gas emissions from building materials and construction. Embodied carbon covers emissions from extraction, manufacturing, transport, and installation of materials like concrete, steel, and wood. Nelson integrated life-cycle carbon considerations into municipal policy, procurement, and development processes, and created an advisory group with builders and designers to spread lower-carbon practices. Nelson became the second municipality in Canada in 2025 to require whole-building life-cycle assessments for Part 3 developments through its Official Community Plan. The city also published material and design guides to help project teams choose lower-emission materials early in the design process. FortisBC, the local utility, publicly supported the city's approach. The city's tools and research are available online for other municipalities to use.
