Our current framework for net-zero buildings doesn’t account for embodied carbon – that is, carbon pollution created during material manufacturing and distribution. In this session, we will show how systems thinking about carbon and an integrated design approach can change building practices from a problem to a solution. We will present data on the embodied carbon impact of green buildings; address how to quantify embodied carbon in design/build practices; and discuss present-day carbon-positive construction materials and assemblies, which can reduce the carbon load in the atmosphere. This effectively uses buildings as carbon-sequestering reservoirs, which can mitigate and even reverse climate change effects. Understanding the carbon cycle, and how we as design/build practitioners can make beneficial choices, is the next horizon for integrative green building.