•A framework for assessing the embodied carbon impacts of buildings is proposed.•Work breakdown structure is used to facilitate the integration of process data.•Engineering quota is used to extract reliable material and energy consumption data.•Case study demonstrates the applicability of the proposed framework. To improve the integrity and accuracy of methods for quantifying the embodied carbon impacts of residential buildings during early design stages, an assessment framework was developed in this study to analyze the embodied carbon impacts of buildings to support decision making in China. During the development of this framework, the carbon emission characteristics of pre-occupancy stages were modeled based on the work breakdown structure (WBS). Then, the bill of quantities (BOQ) and the engineering quota were used along with the established carbon footprint factor database (CFFD) to calculate the carbon footprints (CFs) of the buildings. The embodied carbon impacts of three types of residential buildings in China were assessed as a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed framework. The results showed that construction processes related to reinforced concrete, metal structures, and masonry materials are responsible for the majority of the CFs of residential buildings. Thus, enhancing the environmental performance of cement production and increasing the recycling rate of steel scraps in steel production are significant factors in reducing the total CFs of residential buildings in China. Furthermore, these results indicate that the proposed framework can effectively quantify the embodied carbon impacts of residential buildings at the design stage.