Towards a sustainable global construction and buildings value chain

This policy brief, published by the Stockholm Environment Institute in June 2022, analyzes the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the global construction and buildings value chain. It emphasizes that decisions made during the early stages of planning and finance heavily dictate the sustainability outcomes of the entire chain. The document advocates for a multi-stakeholder approach involving regulations, green public procurement, and urban planning to transition toward net-zero emissions and higher material efficiency.

• The construction and buildings sectors have a massive global environmental footprint, with the construction sector alone accounting for 50% of global resource extraction. In 2018, these sectors combined were responsible for more than one-third of global process-related CO2 emissions and final energy use.
• The production of construction materials is the most environmentally damaging stage of the value chain, causing local deforestation, water scarcity, and pollution. Specifically, cement production generates approximately 7% of global CO2 emissions, while steel production accounts for about 7–9%.
• High-income regions often outsource the environmental burdens of their construction activities to lower-income countries. This dynamic contributes to a global slowdown in material efficiency, as lower-income countries typically exhibit lower material efficiency levels.
• Decarbonizing the construction phase is difficult because steel and cement are among the hardest sectors to decarbonize. To align with the Paris Agreement, the IEA Net-Zero Scenario suggests that the use of cement and steel must be reduced by half by 2050.
• Economic barriers hinder the adoption of sustainable materials, as low-carbon alternatives carry significant price premiums. For example, low-carbon steel currently costs between 15% and 40% more, while low-carbon cement premiums range from 75% to 210%.
• Operational energy use in buildings accounts for 27% of the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by the construction sector.
• Public policy and procurement are critical levers for transition, as the public sector provided 83% of all infrastructure investments worldwide in 2017. Government spending on works, goods, and services represents 14% of GDP in the EU and up to 30% in low-middle income countries.

APA

Linde, L., Lewis, A. N., & Sanchez, F. (2022). Towards a sustainable global construction and buildings value chain. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/brief-towards-a-sustainable-global-construction-1.pdf

Chicago

Linde, Linus, Astrid Nilsson Lewis, and Felipe Sanchez. Towards a sustainable global construction and buildings value chain. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/brief-towards-a-sustainable-global-construction-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Linde |first1=Linus |last2=Lewis |first2=Astrid Nilsson |last3=Sanchez |first3=Felipe |title=Towards a sustainable global construction and buildings value chain |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=June 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/brief-towards-a-sustainable-global-construction-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{linde2022towards, author = {Linde, Linus and Lewis, Astrid Nilsson and Sanchez, Felipe}, title = {{Towards a sustainable global construction and buildings value chain}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/brief-towards-a-sustainable-global-construction-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }