Introducing the New Pathfinder 3.0: A Climate + Biodiversity Positive Tool for Sites
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The need to embrace climate-forward practices in the design and construction of cities and communities is critical. The choices we make today will ripple through the future of our built environment for decades to come. By selecting low-carbon local materials, adopting more resilient design strategies and considering the peripheral benefits of site designs will allow us to greatly improve the environmental impact of projects and contribute to solving the climate crisis.
The Climate Positive Design vision. Photo: Climate Positive Design
To help designers of the exterior built environment measure project impacts and meet the goals of the Climate Positive Design Challenge, Climate Positive Design released a new update to the free web-based life-cycle analysis (LCA) application in October 2024. This new version, Pathfinder 3.0, contains an expanded material carbon dataset measuring embodied, operational, and carbon sequestration, provides enhanced climate-related metrics, and introduces new benefit tools to assess biodiversity, water use, cooling and equity. The tool can be used to understand the performance of projects like green roofs, streetscapes, green infrastructure, parks, plazas, campus and much more–basically all spaces “beyond buildings”.
Screenshots from the Pathfinder app, version 3.0 and its features. Photo: Climate Positive Design
The Rocks Dog Park on Yerba Buena Island. A naturalistic overlook park featuring salvaged boulders discovered during early on-island rough grading activities. Photo: CMG Landscape Architecture
Materials Carbon Data
A key feature of this release is the expansion of the material carbon dataset which was developed through close collaboration with the Carbon Conscience planning application developed by Sasaki. The new dataset covers a broader range of materials and offers more detailed and refined carbon emissions data.
One of the most important updates is the ability to account for transportation emissions. Users can now select transportation types—such as truck, rail, or ship—and specify the distance the material needs to travel from the manufacturing site to the project location.The application uses this information to calculate the transportation-related carbon emissions, adding another layer of accuracy to the analysis.
The release also includes expanded options for ecosystem land use. You can now track ecosystems that are either protected or restored (new) and the tool also takes into account the removal or demolition of certain land types. Additionally, for wood materials, the application now tracks carbon stored within the organic material on the project scorecard which is crucial for understanding biogenic carbon accumulation.
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Benefits
The update also introduces a suite of features designed to help users assess and optimize the broader environmental impact of their projects, or benefits, particularly in relation to climate and biodiversity. These tools make it easier to assess not just the carbon footprint of a project but its overall impact on the environment and community.
Tech Campus Landscape that includes salvaged eucalyptus trees repurposed into unique seating areas and design elements. Photo: Jeremy Bittermann | CMG Landscape Architecture
Biodiversity
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping has been integrated to help users identify and understand the surrounding biome, ecoregion, and protected areas near a project site. This data is important for assessing the biodiversity impact of a project as users can now account for nearby ecosystems in order to make informed design decisions that protect, restore or augment local habitats.
The release includes a Biodiversity Net Impact score, which reflects how your project affects the local ecosystem. This score is based on factors like native plant protection, restoration efforts, and overall ecosystem health. Pathfinder 3.0 also shows the percentage of ecosystem protection so you can track how your project contributes to or detracts from local biodiversity.
Water Use
Water use is another important consideration in sustainable design and Pathfinder 3.0 introduces new tools to help you track and manage water consumption. Using GIS, the application now provides potential evapotranspiration data for a project site that shows how much water is needed to maintain healthy vegetation within the local climate.
The Climate Positive Design team has also added new elements within the Operations section to help users assign water use intensity to different planting areas of a project. The application aggregates this data based on the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO) and helps the user understand their project’s baseline water usage and potential for water conservation.
A shaded picnic area and bocce court within the Bay Meadows Landing Green linear park. Photo: Richard Seagraves
Cooling
Climate impacts, especially related to heat, are another key focus of this release. The application uses GIS mapping to provide heat severity-related information for a project site in order to better understand the local climate and how the project might affect or be affected by heat island impacts. It also calculates the potential shading benefits of trees and other vegetation which is based on specific biome requirements. This can help users design projects that mitigate heat and improve outdoor comfort. Designers are also encouraged to include any additional shade structures – like awnings, canopies or pergolas – which can further reduce heat.
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Equity
This release introduces new features for assessing the social impact of a project. Pathfinder 3.0 integrated the US Government’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) to provide GIS mapping that shows whether your project is located in an underserved area. For international projects, users can still assess equity factors according to local guidelines.
San Francisco Waterfront Resilience Program Community Engagement. Photo: CMG Landscape Architecture
The Community Engagement feature encourages users to consider the level of public participation in the design process. This tool helps assess the social implications of a project to ensure that a community’s needs and concerns are taken into account during the design phase as a participant.
Additional Updates
An updated project scorecard now includes results from the new climate, biodiversity, water, and equity features, painting a holistic picture of your project’s environmental impact. It also compares a project primary design version to a designated primary baseline condition which tracks improvement of applying climate positive design strategies.
To help users make the most of these new features, the methodology report and user guide have been updated and are available on the Climate Positive Design website. These documents provide a detailed explanation of how the new tools work, including step-by-step instructions and best practices for using them in your projects and offer practical guidance on how to incorporate carbon, biodiversity, and water management data into your design.
A stormwater basin within Buckeye Grove designed by CMG Landscape Architecture on Yerba Buena Island includes native plant species salvaged from the island. Photo: Climate Positive Design
Conclusion
The Pathfinder 3.0 update includes new tools and features that make it easier to assess the environmental impact of your projects. Whether you’re focused on reducing carbon emissions, optimizing water use, protecting biodiversity, or addressing social equity, this release gives you the data and tools to make informed and responsible decisions.
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Pamela Conrad, ASLA, PLA, LEED AP is a licensed landscape architect, the founder of Climate Positive Design, faculty at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and ASLA’s inaugural Biodiversity and Climate Fellow. She was the chair and lead author of ASLA’s Climate Action Plan, 2019 LAF Fellow, 2023 Harvard Loeb Fellow and currently serves as IFLA’s Climate and Biodiversity Working Group Vice-Chair, World Economic Forum’s Nature-Positive Cities Task Force Expert, Carbon Leadership Forum ECHO Steering Committee, and is an Architecture 2030 Senior Fellow.
