Policy Opportunities to Increase Material Circularity in the Buildings Industry

The document argues that while current building codes focus on operational emissions and 'Buy Clean' policies target material production, there is a gap in mitigating end-of-life climate impacts. It proposes five policy interventions for municipalities: planning permit incentives for adaptive reuse, design standards for future adaptability in new construction, improved C&D waste management ordinances, deconstruction ordinances for historic buildings, and the implementation of material passports for public buildings.

• Standard whole building life-cycle assessment (WBLCA) methodologies may underestimate the value of material recovery; while end-of-life carbon emissions typically account for less than 2% of total impacts across stages A to C, the potential benefits from material recovery (stage D) can be equivalent to 25% of those total impacts.
• In 2015, the US buildings industry generated 94 million tons of construction and demolition (C&D) debris. Of this, 44% was landfilled and 39% was crushed concrete waste used as recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). Only 8%, or 14 million tons, was recycled into manufactured products.
• The use of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) provides limited benefits for reducing the global warming potential of concrete because Portland cement production, rather than aggregate sourcing, is the primary driver of emissions. Some RCA mixes may even require more cement to meet strength requirements, limiting them to low-strength applications.
• To incentivize the direct reuse of buildings, municipalities should offer planning permit incentives such as fee reductions, density bonuses, or zoned land use flexibility for adaptive reuse projects that demonstrate avoided carbon emissions via LEED building reuse credits or WBLCA showing reductions exceeding 50%.
• New construction design standards should be implemented for large commercial buildings over 100,000 square feet and parking structures to ensure future adaptability. Recommended strategies include using clear spans, flat floors, non-load-bearing interior partitions, and design for disassembly (e.g., using screws instead of glues).
• Deconstruction ordinances, such as the one in Portland, Oregon, can increase the recovery of high-quality materials from historic buildings (e.g., those built in 1940 or earlier) by requiring certified deconstruction contractors instead of conventional demolition.
• Material passports can be piloted for new public buildings to document material composition, assembly methods, and embodied carbon. This documentation facilitates future recovery and should target high-volume interior materials like carpet, gypsum board, and extruded aluminum.

APA

RMI (2022). Policy Opportunities to Increase Material Circularity in the Buildings Industry. https://rmi.org/resources/opportunities-to-increase-material-circularity-in-the-buildings-industry/

Chicago

RMI. Policy Opportunities to Increase Material Circularity in the Buildings Industry. 2022. https://rmi.org/resources/opportunities-to-increase-material-circularity-in-the-buildings-industry/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Policy Opportunities to Increase Material Circularity in the Buildings Industry |date=4 August 2022 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/opportunities-to-increase-material-circularity-in-the-buildings-industry/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2022policy, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Policy Opportunities to Increase Material Circularity in the Buildings Industry}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/opportunities-to-increase-material-circularity-in-the-buildings-industry/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }