<aside> ℹ️ Here you will read the summary conclusions and recommendations, with a focus on technical and political solutions.
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In this report, we have taken a bird’s eye view on the state of embodied carbon in the EU. We have strived to present a robust foundation upon which further work can be done. We have done this by looking at both the political context as well as the on-the-ground situation of some of the main industries concerned.
This work will continue and be expanded upon. For now, we present the following recommendations for next steps, divided in two tracks focussing on the political and technical. Each of these steps (what they involve and what needs to happen for them to be taken) are covered in more detail throughout this report.
The first step to reducing embodied carbon is to avoid emitting unnecessary carbon through improved product design. This involves a reduction in new extraction of raw materials (for example mining) as well as increased reuse of existing materials. Reducing the addition of new raw materials and increasing the use of recycled or repurposed materials, reduces the overall upfront carbon footprint associated with the material's production and, in turn, the embodied carbon content. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that this decrease happens only when there is an absolute reduction on material production. Therefore, we need to reduce the absolute amount of materials used, decreasing the demand. For example, buildings and infrastructure are often over-dimensioned to be on the 'safe side'. Health and safety must of course come first, but it is a fact that this is often done even when we know it is not necessary. Architects and designers, as well as project commissioners play a central role in this first step. This also includes designing products not only to reduce material use, but also to include plans for improved disassembly and recyclability or reuse at the end of life.
The second step to reducing embodied carbon is about choosing renovation over new construction, as well as smaller buildings over larger ones. For example, apartments or terraced houses will have a reduced whole-life carbon footprint than a detached house. And smaller, lighter cars will use less material, crucially steel, than larger, over-dimensioned cars. Saving on materials makes both ecological and economic sense.
The third step is to reduce emissions across the necessary production processes, such as replacing high-carbon cement with low-carbon alternatives, including through the use of CCS and through more climate-friendly types of cement and concrete with other constituents. This can also be about electrifying construction machinery and improving logistics around the transport of materials and other resources to and from the construction site.
The first step is to improve awareness of the amount of embodied carbon by increasing the use of transparent, verifiable and comparable calculation methods and certifications. This is both about improving consumer power through access to information, but also about improving the opportunities for innovative manufacturers to develop and verify their credible low-carbon alternatives, avoiding greenwashing and ensuring better market access for future-oriented products.
Second, policy makers must empower producers to reduce the climate footprint of building materials by setting limit values for the amount of embodied carbon they can contain. Here we can start where there is the most to be gained: cement, steel and other widely used building materials that have a significant carbon footprint. This step is also about facilitating the roll-out of technological solutions that enable the production of lower-carbon materials.
Third, we must demand greener public procurement for building materials with a lower embodied carbon content. Public purchasing power is huge and harbours great untapped potential to drive new markets for greener solutions, empowering the private sector to follow suit. We have already seen examples of this power being successfully deployed with municipalities setting criteria for emission-free construction sites. Let's recreate the success with low carbon materials.
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