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The document outlines four key insights from successful NZE home builders in the US: the economic viability of NZE homes through integrated design, the need to shift customer communication toward comfort and income rather than technical science, the potential for prefabricated construction to mitigate labor shortages, and the reduced market risk associated with offering a highly differentiated, high-efficiency product.

The report finds that while the EU ETS initially focused management attention on CO2, a declining carbon price and free allocation rules have since diminished its impact. Most emission reductions were driven by economic cycles or non-ETS regulations. The authors argue that current free allocation creates distortions, such as discouraging asset rationalization and incentivizing excess clinker production. To unlock deep mitigation like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and clinker substitution, the report recommends strengthening the carbon price signal, reforming leakage protection through output-based allocation or the inclusion of consumption, and providing targeted innovation support.