Skip to main content
2021-03-17 | Mass Timber Institute
Mass Timber Institute

Although numerous jurisdictions have established design guides for tall mass timber buildings, architects and engineers often do not have access to the specialized building science knowledge required to deliver well-performing mass timber buildings. Mass Timber Institute(MTI) worked collaboratively with industry, design professionals, academia, researchers and code experts to develop the scope and content of this mass timber building science primer.

This report introduced mass timber building systems, which are made of wood products that are engineered to be strong, durable and fire-resistant. The report explains how mass timber buildings can be designed, constructed and evaluated in Canada, and what are the benefits and challenges of using this building system. It also compares mass timber buildings with other building systems in terms of environmental impacts and life cycle assessment. 

Read the full report here.

2023-09-14 | International Energy Agency (IEA); International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champions
International Energy Agency (IEA); International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champions

The Breakthrough Agenda Report 2023 is an annual collaboration between the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champions, focused on supporting stronger international collaboration to drive faster reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions. This year’s report shows that current efforts on clean energy and sustainable solutions, while improving, are not yet delivering the levels of investment and deployment required to meet international climate goals. In response, it calls on governments to strengthen collaboration in key areas – such as standards and regulation, financial and technical assistance and market creation – to turbocharge the transition.

The 2023 edition, following the development of the Buildings Breakthrough, includes a Buildings chapter, developed in collaboration with GlobalABC and where five areas are identified as priorities for international collaboration to deliver near-zero emissions and resilient buildings: Standards and certification; Demand creation; Finance and investment; Research and deployment; and Knowledge and capacity-building

Read the report now

2023-04-27 | Brazilian Council for Sustainable Construction
University of Sao Paulo

The Information System for Environmental Performance in Construction (known by its acronym in Portuguese Sidac) allows the calculation of environmental performance indicators for construction products based on Brazilian data and on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) concepts. The first version of Sidac contemplates the indicators of primary energy demand and CO2 emission, from cradle to factory gate. It contains generic data for 86 different construction products and 40 basic supplies, based on verified Brazilian information. It can support the calculation of the embodied energy and carbon of Brazilian buildings, and supplier selection because the tool is also prepared to receive manufacturer-specific data. More details about the tool are available in the following research paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.138461

 

 

 

2023-09-21 | The Global Cement and Concrete Association
The Global Cement and Concrete Association

Member companies of the Global Cement and Concrete Association have come together as leaders in the sector to commit to producing net zero concrete by 2050, in line with global climate targets – accelerating the CO2 reductions that we have already achieved. The GCCA 2050 Net Zero Roadmap sets out in detail how collectively, in collaboration with built environment stakeholders and policymakers, we will fully decarbonise the cement and concrete industry and provide net zero concrete for the world.

 

 
2023-08-10 | Concrete New Zealand (ConcreteNZ) 
Concrete New Zealand (ConcreteNZ) 

Concrete New Zealand (ConcreteNZ) published A Net-Zero Carbon Concrete Industry for Aotearoa New Zealand: Roadmap to 2050 .

The roadmap outlines the New Zealand cement and concrete industry’s commitment to achieve net-zero concrete production by 2050. The roadmap sets targets for a 44% reduction in direct and electricity-related greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, aligning with global standards.

The roadmap also showcases the industry’s efforts and innovations to reduce emissions and enhance the sustainability of concrete, and it aims to support the New Zealand government’s climate change goals and contribute to the global net zero movement.

Read the full roadmap here.

2023-07-26 | WorldGBC
WorldGBC

The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) published the fifth edition of its annual Advancing Net Zero (ANZ) Status Report.

The report showcases breakthrough action from across the GBC network, including the 35 GBCs participating in WorldGBC’s global Advancing Net Zero programme, 175 signatories to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (the Commitment), the wider GBCs network, partners and more. In addition, the report also highlights collaborative efforts from the market that support WorldGBC’s mission to achieve 100% net zero carbon buildings by 2050.

Read the full report here

 

2023-06-01 | Zhinan Chen and Radhika Lalit
RMI

RMI’s insight brief The 3Cs of Innovation in Low-Carbon Concrete: Clinker, Cement, and Concrete provides a one-stop shop for understanding the landscape of emerging and alternative technologies to decarbonize concrete and cement. The insight brief details the pros and cons of each innovation and provides a technology’s applicability evaluation framework for assessing which of these technologies are most effective for their unique conditions.

The concrete and cement industry currently accounts for 7-8% of global CO2 emissions, and the sectoral emissions will continue to increase if we keep making concrete the way it is produced today. The coming years will see significant growth in demand for concrete, particularly in the Global South, which means bringing many brand-new plants online. This provides a prime opportunity for investing in low- and zero-carbon concrete and cement production capacities to avoid locking in emissions for decades.

There is no silver bullet to decarbonize concrete and cement. On the one hand, the technologies that are readily available today, such as energy efficiency improvements, will not get us to net-zero by 2050. On the other, the most mature carbon capture technology today can achieve significant emission savings, but is expensive and energy intensive. Many policy-makers, investors, researchers, and industry stakeholders have expressed interest in understanding the new and emerging technologies that can accelerate the sectoral transition.

Read the report here

 

2023-04-27
Observatoire de l’Immobilier Durable

European buildings represent 40% of final energy consumption and 36% of GHG emissions related to energy, making them a priority axis for decarbonisation. For the EU, it is urgent to reduce buildings’ energy consumption, especially since 75% of existing buildings are reportedly energy inefficient (i.e. EPC band C or lower according to the SFDR) and require energy renovation work. To act on these issues, one of the main regulatory levers available to the EU is the Energy Performance Building Directive (EPBD). This directive requires EU countries to ensure that by the end of 2020, all newbuilds are nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB). This EU standard relies on two main pillars: a strong energy performance and the local production of renewable energy.

Read the study here

2023-05-31 | Hélène Sibileau
BPIE (Buildings Performance Institute Europe)

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is entering the last phase of the EU legislative process with the start of trialogue negotiations between the Council and Parliament. Against this backdrop, this briefing by BPIE provides an overview of where institutions stand at the start of the process and highlights where there is still room for improvement.

Download the briefing here.

2023-05-04 | Rob Bernhardt
Building Performance Assurance Council

This paper organizes, summarizes and collates the findings, guidelines and recommendations of global agencies mandated to identify the outcomes buildings are to deliver for people, the planet and prosperity. The member nations of the UN have, almost without exception, through the Paris Agreement and the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), committed to identified goals and signed, legally binding agreements. In this paper, buildings delivering the outcomes required to achieve those goals are referred to as ‘Paris-aligned’ - they deliver the outcomes the world has been informed are needed and agreed to pursue under the Paris Agreement.

Download the paper here.