(Credit: Pixabay)Investment in low-carbon construction technology surpassed $2 billion this year as the building industry seeks ways to lower its emissions imprint in a way that could include one day storing a significant amount of the world’s carbon dioxide, a report from A/O PropTech finds.
Buildings are a significant source of the world’s emissions, and much of that comes from embodied emissions, which has led to the construction industry attempting new processes such as using bio-based and reusable materials. Those advancements have led to a record $2.2 billion in investments in green construction processes in 2022, the report says.
That advancement in sustainable construction, including using bio-based materials, could create carbon sinks in the world’s building fabric that is nearly equal to the amount of carbon stored in the Amazon rainforest, A/O ProTech says. If cities and developers commit to these practices, as much as 60 gigatons of carbon dioxide could be stored in the built environment by 2050.
Overall, more than $4.5 billion has been directly invested in decarbonizing architecture since 2017, the report finds. That includes 452 deals, 80% of which were in North America and Europe.
Buildings account for approximately 40% of the world’s emissions, according to Architecture 2030. Of that 13% is from embodied emissions that come from materials and construction practices. The organization says that amount of building space is expected to double by 2060.
The A/O ProTech report says by 2050 half of built emissions will be from embodied carbon.
Several organizations have recently committed to reducing emissions in the building industry. The MEP 2040 Challenge is a commitment from organizations that provide mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and other design services to achieve net zero on their projects by 2040. Two dozen building organizations called on government representatives at COP27 to commit to decarbonization efforts.
Architecture 2030 says to achieve zero-bodied emissions the industry needs to adopt principles promoting the reuse of materials, optimizing material use including low- and zero-carbon materials, and finding methods to sequester carbon. That includes designing carbon sequestering sites and using carbon sequestering materials.
The A/O ProTech report says combining improved construction processes that minimalize material uses and swapping traditional materials for low-carbon, bio-based, and recycled resources could serve as a carbon removal system and turn cities into carbon sinks. The report finds that cities could potentially sequester as much carbon as four-fifths of the Amazon.
Much of the construction embodied emissions come from concrete and steel, which contribute around 8% to global emissions. Without changes emissions from materials manufacturing could reach as high as 19 gigatons, A/O ProTech says.
A recent report from Zero Waste Europe and Eunomia Research and Consulting found that important materials in the building industry, such as cement, aluminum, and steel, are all in danger of missing their carbon budgets without significant changes. The European Union’s largest cement manufacturers have committed to lowering their emissions by 30% by 2030.
A/O ProTech says investments in low-carbon cement products have reached $267 million this year. It says low-carbon cement alternatives can reduce emissions of the material by up to 70%.
The report finds that bio-based materials such as bamboo, straw, and hemp are increasing in the construction industry. Timber has seen the greatest increase, and new regulations have also encouraged its use.
Another example is a project by Lendlease, Rubicon Technologies, Mycocycle, and Rockwood Sustainable Solutions that is using mushrooms to break down asphalt shingles. It hopes to create a bioproduct that can be reused in the construction industry.
Legislation is also helping make improvements in the building industry. France has a rule that half of the construction materials of public buildings must be bio-based by 2030, and in the United Kingdom a life cycle assessment that accounts for the environmental impact of a building must accompany all major developments in London, the report says. In the US large cities such as New York and Denver have building emission regulations set to go into effect.
The A/O ProTech report also says software that addresses architecture design and impacts is growing. If says software accounted for 2% of green construction technology funding from 2017-2019 but has received more than $180 million and 8% of the market by 2022.
The report says the cities with the most investments in sustainable construction are London, San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Israel, Los Angeles, and Oakland, California.
