Reducing Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment

This policy brief from RMI outlines the role of policymakers in reducing embodied carbon in the built environment, emphasizing the use of regulations, incentives, and standards to drive private-sector reductions and stimulate market demand for low-carbon materials.

• Buildings are responsible for at least 39% of annual global energy-related carbon emissions, with at least 25% of those emissions stemming from embodied carbon, which refers to emissions from construction and building materials.
• Policymakers can reduce embodied carbon by implementing five key strategies: procurement policies for lower-carbon materials; integrating embodied carbon into climate action plans (including waste management and historic preservation); incrementally introducing embodied carbon into building codes via disclosures or limits; adding requirements to zoning and land use regulations for low-carbon design and reuse; and using executive orders to address the industrial and building sectors, including clean product standards or carbon sequestration tax credits.
• To avoid increasing local construction costs or straining government budgets, policymakers should focus on low- and no-cost solutions when developing building codes, incentive programs, and procurement policies.

APA

RMI (n.d.). Reducing Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2021/09/EC_2_Pager_For_Policymakers.pdf

Chicago

RMI. Reducing Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment. n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2021/09/EC_2_Pager_For_Policymakers.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Reducing Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2021/09/EC_2_Pager_For_Policymakers.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmindreducing, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Reducing Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2021/09/EC_2_Pager_For_Policymakers.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }