Built Environment Resources

Overview

From the production of original research to the influence of multi-level policies, CNCA’s strategic focus is people-centered and spans the ecosystem of cities and industry stakeholders to dramatically decarbonize the built environment across geographies.

Refurbishment vs. Demolition & New Build: A Policy Outline for Cities tile-image

Developed by One Click LCA in partnership with CNCA. It suggests the key characteristics of such a policy as well as technical guidance on how the assessments should be undertaken.

Read the Report
Release of Guide Centering Justice in Embodied Carbon Policies tile-image

Release of Guide Centering Justice in Embodied Carbon Policies

Year Completed: 2024

A new guide and workbook for applying justice principles to materials resource management, new construction, and alternatives to demolition.

Embodying Justice in the Built Environment: Circularity In Practice explores justice principles and provides a framework for centering justice in embodied carbon policies and planning. Exploratory questions, designed as a workbook, guide the user through a process which centers meaningful community engagement in considering social, economic, and labor impacts and opportunities rooted in an understanding of the local historical context. 

Created by researchers in the Just Places Lab, Reparative Praxis Lab, and Circular Construction Lab at Cornell University in partnership with the Susan Christopherson Center for Community Planning and the Circularity, Reuse, and the Zero Waste Development (CR0WD) Network.

  • Press Release
  • Webinar Recording of an information session on the workbook, presented with a panel discussion by the project team, and featuring questions and insights from webinar participants.
https://carbonneutralcities.org/press_embodyingjustice/
Handbook for Carbon Neutral Buildings tile-image

CNCA & Arup offer cities a practicable guide to purchasing bio-based and low-carbon materials.

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CNCA’s 1st Online Course: Intro to Embodied Carbon tile-image

CNCA’s 1st Online Course: Intro to Embodied Carbon

Free certification: Life cycle, biobased materials & circularity in construction.

Available Now.

As of 2023, CNCA and One Click LCA offer free certificate course available online for city officials on life cycle analysis, biobased materials and circularity in construction.

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Livre Blanc à L’Intention Des Territoires Et Décideurs Locaux tile-image

Livre Blanc à L’Intention Des Territoires Et Décideurs Locaux

Year Completed: 2024

25 recommendations carried by a national coalition in France.

(In French)

Developing a Roadmap for the Decarbonization of the Construction Sector in Spanish Cities. tile-image

Developing a Roadmap for the Decarbonization of the Construction Sector in Spanish Cities.

Year Completed: 2023

Step-by-step guide for Spanish cities.

(Introduction in English. Guide in Spanish)

Procedures to Facilitate Re-Use Inventory tile-image

Procedures to Facilitate Re-Use Inventory

City: Lund
Year Completed: 2023

 

CNCA provides a grant to Lund to establish clear procedures for the city administration to facilitate re-use inventory in connection with maintenance, renovation, and demolition.

Read the Guide
Reducing Embodied Carbon of New Buildings in Glasgow tile-image

Reducing Embodied Carbon of New Buildings in Glasgow

City: Glasgow
Year Completed: 2023

CNCA provides a grant to Glasgow to provide the information and support necessary for the city to consider the introduction of an embodied carbon measurement and reduction policy in the future for buildings in the city.

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Climate Effect of Reusing Building Materials tile-image

Climate Effect of Reusing Building Materials

City: Stockholm
Year Completed: 2022

 

CNCA provides a grant to Stockholm to research climate effects from the reuse of building products, interiors, and furniture, as well as for identifying which products could be suitable for reuse based on their climate effect and current common flows in Sweden.

Report available in Swedish (with executive summary in English).

Access the Report
Communicating the Importance of Embodied Carbon and Bio-based Materials in the Built Environment tile-image

Communicating the Importance of Embodied Carbon and Bio-based Materials in the Built Environment

Year Completed: 2022

Action Plan to Dramatically Reduce Embodied Carbon and Increase Uptake of Bio-Based Materials tile-image

Overview from the technical assessments addressed to the 12 cities participating in the project reviewing laws impacting embodied carbon and bio-based and identifying levers for action.

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Embodied Carbon Policy Framework tile-image

Embodied Carbon Policy Framework

Embodied Carbon—the emissions released from materials during the construction of buildings and infrastructure—will be responsible for half of the carbon footprint of new structures between now and 2050. It is a substantial source of carbon emissions in cities that can be dramatically reduced through the legal and regulatory powers of zoning and land use policies. Some leading cities around the world have already begun to adopt and apply these policies, but for climate goals to be met, global implementation needs to be accelerated. 

This framework provides guidance for cities considering policies that can deliver the highest impact within their geopolitical contexts and regulatory systems. Over 50 existing policies from leading cities have been evaluated, categorized, and scored according to their potential, cost efficiency, ease of implementation, and enforceability.

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