As the push to reduce embodied carbon in buildings accelerates, research, advocacy and industry groups are releasing guidance for local governments on how they can support the transition to more climate-friendly building materials.

Embodied carbon is the name for the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the entire lifecycle of building products, including extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, construction and eventual disposal. Building materials and construction are responsible for 11% of global energy-related carbon emissions.

The U.S. Green Building Council and think tank RMI on Tuesday published a report outlining key actions to accelerate the decarbonization of U.S. building construction. While it was geared toward industry participants, the report identifies a role for local governments.

“Governments must prepare the way for embodied carbon regulation by investing in low-embodied carbon public buildings and supporting research and market development of low-embodied carbon building products and practices,” it says.

The report points to “a surge” of federal and state action plans and programs to reduce the embodied carbon of construction materials. It notes that the federal government and some state governments have recently launched “Buy Clean” initiatives, which promote the procurement of low-embodied-carbon construction materials.

Read the full article about cutting buildings’ embodied carbon by Ysabelle Kempe at Smart Cities Dive.