Green Information Modeling™
Carbon Built Into the Model
On most projects, carbon is a separate calculation, done late and by someone else. Green Information Modeling™ is American Katerra’s approach to building it into the model instead. The same BIM model that details and fabricates your steel also carries its quantities and its carbon, so decisions about footprint happen while they can still change the outcome. It is how our AI-native, model-first workflow connects design to decarbonization.
What Green Information Modeling™ means
Green Information Modeling™ extends BIM beyond geometry. The model that holds your beams and connections also holds the data behind their footprint, so quantities, sourcing, and embodied carbon come from one place rather than three. Nothing is re-counted, and nothing is bolted on at the end.
Why it matters
One source of truth
Quantities and carbon come from the same model the shop builds from, so the numbers agree.
Carbon early
Footprint is visible while the design can still change, not after the steel is ordered.
One model, many uses
The same model drives fabrication and feeds reporting, with no duplicate effort.
From model to fabrication
The model is build-ready. It drives our steel detailing and BIM and feeds our robotic welding directly, which is where a model-first workflow earns its keep.
From model to carbon
The same model feeds measurement. We quantify the footprint through life cycle assessment, document it as embodied carbon data, and help you choose lower-carbon Green Steel where it counts.
Green Information Modeling™ FAQs
What is Green Information Modeling™?
Green Information Modeling™ is American Katerra’s approach to carrying carbon data inside the BIM model itself. The same model that details and fabricates structural steel also holds its quantities and embodied carbon, so reporting comes from the model rather than a separate late-stage calculation.
Is Green Information Modeling™ the same as green BIM or 6D BIM?
They are related. Green BIM and 6D BIM describe adding sustainability data to building models in general. Green Information Modeling™ is how American Katerra applies that idea to steel fabrication, with one model driving detailing, fabrication, and carbon reporting.
Does Green Information Modeling™ require special software?
No. It runs on standard BIM tools such as Tekla Structures. What changes is the workflow: quantities, sourcing, and embodied carbon stay connected to the model as it moves to the shop, like a digital twin of the steel package.
Part of how we work
Green Information Modeling™ is the digital backbone behind our Green & Blue Carbon Steel™ approach. It is what lets a sustainability goal become a measured result rather than a statement.
Want carbon handled in the model, not after it? Talk to us about detailing, BIM, and how we measure.