As Australia moves towards its net zero carbon emissions by 2050 target, a new focus is emerging: embodied carbon. The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) has released an Issues Paper highlighting the urgent need to address embodied emissions. While past strategies have targeted operational emissions, embodied carbon—emissions generated from construction materials, site activities, and end-of-life processes—now accounts for up to 5-10% of Australia’s yearly emissions.
With around 70% of embodied carbon coming from upfront emissions during construction.
It’s clear that once these emissions are locked in, they cannot be changed. This makes it crucial to address embodied carbon early in the building lifecycle. As Australia’s electricity sector rapidly decarbonises, tackling embodied carbon is the next frontier in reducing the built environment’s carbon footprint.
The report discusses the current state of sustainable construction initiatives in Australia, such as the NABERS Embodied Carbon project, which aims to create a consistent national standard for measuring and managing embodied carbon emissions. It outlines various ongoing policy developments, research findings, and case studies of international policies that address embodied carbon. It also emphasises the necessity of a collaborative effort involving industry stakeholders, government bodies, and other sectors to develop a comprehensive framework to accelerate the reduction of embodied carbon.
Moreover, the report identifies seven key challenges—referred to as “the seven decarbonisation dilemmas”—that need to be addressed to make significant progress in reducing emissions from Australia’s built environment.
These challenges include developing industry capacity, establishing standardised reporting, and supporting demand for sustainable construction and low-carbon building solutions. The report serves as a basis for feedback from stakeholders, with the ultimate goal of developing a Comprehensive Policy Framework for reducing embodied carbon across buildings and infrastructure.
Read more about the challenges and opportunities outlined in ASBEC’s paper here. https://www.asbec.asn.au/research-items/issues-paper-embodied-carbon-emissions-in-australias-built-environment/
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