The Hidden Climate Impact of Residential Construction

This report by RMI examines the cradle-to-gate (CtG) embodied carbon emissions associated with new low-rise residential construction in the United States, highlighting the potential for significant emissions reductions using existing, cost-effective materials.

• New home construction in the United States generates more than 50 million tons of embodied carbon emissions every year. This volume of emissions is comparable to the annual output of 138 natural gas–fired power plants or the total yearly emissions of countries like Norway, Peru, and Sweden.
• Analysis of five previous studies indicates that cradle-to-gate (CtG) embodied carbon emissions for new low-rise residential homes typically range from 150 to 210 kg CO2e/m2 of conditioned floor area. Based on an annual construction rate of roughly 167 million m2 in the US, emissions from partitions, enclosures, and structures are estimated at 26 to 39 million tons CO2e annually.
• Immediate emissions reductions of 30% to 50% are achievable at cost parity using commercially available, code-compliant materials. These reductions can be realized by focusing on four key material categories—concrete, insulation, cladding, and interior surfaces—which generally account for over 70% of total emissions in new home construction. Potential reductions could reach 140% if a full range of low-emitting and carbon-storing materials are utilized.
• The report asserts that it is currently possible to construct homes that are healthy, comfortable, and energy-efficient while maintaining both low operational and low embodied carbon emissions. As operational greenhouse gas emissions decrease, the relative significance of embodied carbon emissions increases.

APA

RMI (2023). The Hidden Climate Impact of Residential Construction. https://rmi.org/resources/hidden-climate-impact-of-residential-construction/

Chicago

RMI. The Hidden Climate Impact of Residential Construction. 2023. https://rmi.org/resources/hidden-climate-impact-of-residential-construction/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=The Hidden Climate Impact of Residential Construction |date=28 March 2023 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/hidden-climate-impact-of-residential-construction/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2023hidden, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{The Hidden Climate Impact of Residential Construction}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/hidden-climate-impact-of-residential-construction/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }