Carbon and beyond

Mitigating embodied impacts through building design and material selection strategies

Overview

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The impact of the built environment on our planet's future is a critical area of study

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There is an urgent need to address the environmental impact of buildings, particularly the embodied environmental impacts

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As buildings become more energy efficient in their operations, the embodied impacts become increasingly significant

The price of our urban landscapes

Buildings account for approximately 40% of global energy consumption and one-third of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
Strategies for reduction

Material efficiency and recycled content strategies are highly effective in reducing embodied impacts across all categories studied
Water-energy-carbon-ecotoxicity nexus

For every 1% implementation of these strategies, approximately 0.7-0.8% reduction is achieved in global warming potential, water depletion potential, fossil depletion potential, and ecotoxicity