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Building decarbonization guide
Design strategies for reaching net zero at each stage in the building lifecycle
Challenged to decarbonize your buildings but not sure where to invest to make the greatest impact? Decarbonization can take place at any point in the building’s life, from its inception to reuse. Each lifecycle stage offers building owners a different set of strategies to reduce emissions.
Navigate through building lifecycle stages in a new building (left) or an existing building (right), and explore the opportunities in our building decarbonization guide.
Product
construction
maintain and use
end of life
beyond the lifecycle
strategy
Retrofit
First, retrofit existing buildings with better insulation, a tighter envelope, and more efficient systems to reduce operational energy needs. Engineer systems to capture waste heat and use it. Then look to renewable energy sources such as onsite geothermal and solar with battery storage, or offsite sources (wind, solar, hydro). Finally, reduce energy use with automation, real-time data, and responsible occupant behavior.
Existing Building
New Building
Capture waste heat and use it.
Reduce building energy use with occupancy sensors for lighting and radiant heating systems.
Upgrade HVAC systems, insulation, and building envelope. Employ rooftop greywater collection and reuse.
Plan for and implement beneficial electrification.
strategy
Design
Our materials choices determine project carbon emissions. To decarbonize in the early stages of design, model concepts to estimate their associated embodied carbon footprint and adjust. Whenever possible, reuse parts of existing buildings, such as foundations or structural infrastructure. Choose lower carbon structural and interior materials. Design for end-of-life deconstruction and system reuse. To reduce day-to-day energy use, employ passive efficiency strategies, such as solar energy management and efficient exterior walls. Invest in efficient exterior systems to reduce your interior heating, cooling, and lighting demands.
Existing Building
New Building
Design a high-performance, highly insulated building using passive house principles.
Choose materials that require less carbon to manufacture and transport.
Model embodied carbon and building performance in early design stages.
Design with lower carbon or carbon sequestering alternative materials like mass timber.
strategy
Build
Contractors can reduce on-site emission through beneficial electrification and prefabricated components. Prefabricated components and modular construction techniques can reduce construction time, eliminate waste, and help achieve a tighter building envelope. Incorporate alternatives like carbon-injected concrete.
Existing Building
New Building
Construct with modular and prefabricated components.
Build with lower carbon or carbon sequestering materials.
Reuse steel frame and concrete foundations from existing buildings.
strategy
Reuse
At the end of its useful life, a building is ripe for recycling and reuse. The best components for reuse in a new building are the steel frame and concrete foundation, which account for significant embodied carbon. Materials such as timber, drywall, brick, glass, and insulation are all eligible for recycling.
Existing Building
New Building
Reuse steel structure or concrete foundation.
Reuse elements from demolition in new building.
Recycle wood, drywall, windows, and insulation if possible.
strategy
Stage
Beyond the Lifecycle
Circular Economy
To truly decarbonize, we need to give building materials an afterlife as part of a circular economy. Ideally, the industry reuses the building’s primary materials like cement, steel, aluminum, plastics, glass, and gypsum elsewhere. Alternatively, a building’s modular components can be swapped into new buildings, extending their life.
Existing Building
New Building
Repurpose building elements and discarded materials in a new building or in the recycled materials stream.
Reuse the building's flexible structure or modular components.
Adapt existing buildings to new uses.