Biobased and Circular Buildings for Healthy, Clean Cities
The Biobased and Circular Buildings handbook provides a comprehensive guide for cities aiming to reduce embodied carbon in construction by adopting biobased and circular building practices. The initiative focuses on promoting carbon-neutral construction in cities such as Madrid and Milan through innovative strategies that align stakeholders across the value chain. It highlights the potential of biobased materials like timber to significantly reduce emissions, while promoting circular construction principles like reusing, recycling, and reducing waste in urban development.
Key Takeaways
- Carbon Emission Reduction: Using biobased materials and circular construction practices can reduce carbon emissions related to the production, transportation, and end-of-life of construction materials.
- Circular Building Principles: Circularity in construction involves repurposing buildings and minimizing raw material use through recovering, recycling, and remanufacturing components.
- Systems Innovation Approach: The project employed a systems innovation framework, bringing together multiple stakeholders across the construction value chain to drive transformative change.
How It Can Help You
The Biobased and Circular Buildings handbook is valuable for urban planners, policymakers, and developers who are:
- Interested in reducing embodied carbon in urban construction through biobased and circular materials.
- Looking for strategic approaches to aligning stakeholders and creating systemic change in the construction industry.
- Exploring innovative pathways to decarbonize buildings while maximizing environmental and socio-economic co-benefits.
Key Learnings
- Circularity Reduces Emissions: Circular construction practices, like reusing materials and minimizing waste, play a crucial role in reducing embodied carbon.
- Biobased Materials: Timber and other biobased materials can significantly reduce urban emissions, offering health and environmental co-benefits.
- Systems Thinking: Addressing the interconnected challenges of the construction value chain requires collaboration across policy, industry, and innovation sectors.
Date: July 2022
