Kenaf Ventures’ Post

Climate change poses a formidable challenge and the construction industry stands at a crossroads. Known for its substantial carbon footprint, primarily from the production of materials like cement and steel, the industry is now turning to carbon capture as a means to mitigate its environmental impact.  #construction #cementindustry #carboncapture Mark Wille Jefre Outlaw Ali Wolf Ken Semler Andy Mest Tim Taylor Jan Cermak https://lnkd.in/eM-h2HPn

𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗢₂ 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 by Patricia DeLacey, PhD; Tech Xplore The built environment — #infrastructure for #buildings and #transportation — currently produces a large portion of global carbon dioxide emissions, but new #technologies have the potential to transform the #builtenvironment from a #carbonsource to a #carbonsink. As humans continue to emit #CO2 into the atmosphere, warming the planet and causing #climatechange, the #US and many other #countries around the #world are making #commitments to reduce their #carbonfootprint. Buildings and the construction #sector account for about 39% of #energyrelated global CO2 #emissions annually, positioning the built environment as a major focus of #decarbonization efforts. For this reason, the U.S. Federal Sustainability Plan set forth an ambitious goal to achieve net-zero emissions buildings by 2045. "Climatologically, we are running out of time. We can no longer continue to build the way we have always done," said Volker Sick, Director of the Global CO2 Initiative and the DTE Energy Professor of Advanced Energy Research at the University of Michigan and contributing author on the study. The #multidisciplinary team emphasized that we need to think carefully about construction now as infrastructure lifespans are often 50 to 100 years long. "Any opportunities we miss now, we miss for a century," said Sick. The article link is here: https://lnkd.in/dT_7FFyQ

The building and construction industries account for 37% of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions, according to the United Nations Environment Program. This is one of the data points that’s driving demand for green buildings and boosting the use renewable organic materials like wood, hemp and bamboo. It’s also leading architecture firms to incorporate carbon-absorbing plants and trees into their designs. Here is a good industry snapshot by Stephen Wallis of The New York Times (may require subscription). https://hubs.la/Q02vy7390 #BusinessContinuity #Construction #Sustainability #SustainableBuilding

The #construction sector has the imperative to integrate the #CircularEconomy in its activity due to its intense consumption of #naturalresources and #energy. We learn about the #challenges and commitments from Clara Lorente Martín and Cristina Verde 🚧 #MAPFREGlobalRisks

Infrastructure development has contributed largely to our economic growth but also to carbon emissions. Roughly one-fifth of emissions from #infrastructure and the built environment sector are from hard-to-abate materials like cement and steel. Our latest article from our international Capital Projects & Infrastructure community provides a sustainable framework infrastructure developers can apply to procure green materials for infrastructure and buildings: a critical step in reaching net zero. Read how: https://pwc.to/3NMxLDN  #GreenBuildingMaterials #sustainability We are open for a dialogue on more possibilities to reach net zero!

At a time when sustainability and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) concerns are prevalent, there is a crucial need to focus on a sector that accounts for 38% of all global CO₂ emissions and consumes 30% of global resources: the construction industry. In 2022, at COP27, the United Nations announced the Clean Construction Accelerator, a program with actions designed to reduce greenhouse gas production by up to 50% by 2030. A report by ARUP and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development suggests that half of building emissions come from embodied carbon, which is generated in the manufacturing and transportation of materials, not just in construction sites and buildings themselves. It is precisely in this scenario that we see an opportunity for the sector. What is the only renewable material in construction that retains carbon instead of emitting it? Wood. https://lnkd.in/gY-a-JFr

Green Buildings - 5 key takeaways from the Construction LCA Bootcamp: 🏛 The cement industry is extremely sensitive to climate change taxes and regulations. Despite that, not even 1% of the world's concrete buildings are deconstructed at the end of their lives. 🏛 Hierarchy of sustainable practices in the construction industry:  Energy efficiency < Decarbonizing Energy < Embodied Carbon < Carbon Management 🏛 Efficiency vs. Sufficiency: Being efficient is doing more with less, thus optimizing resource use without reducing functionality. Being sufficient is doing enough with less and minimizing resource use by rethinking design and usage. Therefore, reducing a building's mass not only saves materials but also cuts down on carbon emissions. 🏛 Traditional LCAs often overlook emissions from biomass, thinking that it creates a closed carbon cycle by returning to the Earth. However, this is an oversimplification and ignores land use, soil health, fertilizer use, and the burning of biomass. Therefore, it is crucial to include the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of biomass in LCAs to get the real picture. 🏛 Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs): They pinpoint the stages in a product’s lifecycle where the environmental footprint is the heaviest. It aids manufacturers in sourcing materials responsibly and achieving green building certifications like LEED, BREEAM, etc. This course by One Click LCA also pushed me to delve deeper into 3D-printed buildings and zero-carbon steel production. 🏗 With material selection being a massive 50% of industrial emissions, our move towards alternative materials is not just a trend; it is the future. And I'm excited to be part of this change! 🌏 #lifecycleassessment #embodiedcarbon #construction

🔦 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗢𝗘𝗞𝗢𝗕𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗔𝗧 The building and construction sector is responsible for 39% of global carbon emissions. (Source: World Green Building Council → https://lnkd.in/eeiXwQ3g) Of this percentage, 28% is due to operational emissions from energy consumption in buildings, while the remaining 11% stems from embodied carbon, which is linked to material production, transportation, and construction processes. While companies frequently focus on ways to reduce their operational emissions, embodied carbon emissions are largely overlooked. Addressing both types of emissions comprehensively requires a holistic approach that covers the entire lifecycle of buildings, including material selection, construction techniques, energy use and waste management during the building's lifetime.   To help organizations better manage and minimize the carbon impact of their building and construction-related activities, Climatiq has incorporated data from OEKOBAUDAT. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗢𝗘𝗞𝗢𝗕𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗔𝗧? OEKOBAUDAT is an extensive database for construction materials and equipment developed by the German Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building. From lead sheets to AC systems, from rapeseed oil fuel to incineration processes, OEKOBAUDAT integrates multiple datasets to assess the lifecycle and carbon footprint of building materials and components, covering both operational activities and embodied carbon. 𝗢𝗘𝗞𝗢𝗕𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗔𝗧 𝘅 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗾 We have integrated over 460 emission factors for embodied carbon from the OEKOBAUDAT database, covering a wide range of building and construction activities with a primary focus on Germany, as well as EU averages and data from other European countries. Climatiq users can now access detailed insights to accurately evaluate the environmental impact of construction materials and equipment, right from raw material extraction through to manufacturing. In turn, this facilitates informed decision-making for more sustainable construction practices. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 Access OEKOBAUDAT emission factors in our Data Explorer: https://t.ly/b09NF If you’d like to learn more about measuring construction emissions, or if there’s other data you’d like to see, get in touch with our team: https://t.ly/fo8G-

What’s the most effective way to reduce carbon emissions in the #construction sector? Our first blog of the year provides you with some ideas for more #resilient and #sustainable #infrastructure. Livia Minoja Alexandra Alvear Christiaan Gischler

🏗️ As a building material, concrete is more in demand than ever – at the same time, it is one of the biggest climate killers, responsible for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions today, and estimated to hit 12% by 2060, according to the OECD. To reach #netzero by 2050, the construction sector needs scalable and cost-effective solutions. The good news is - the industry itself can make a major contribution to climate protection through carbon storage in building materials. ✅ One of those solutions could be mixing #biochar with concrete and other building materials. This not only durably locks away carbon in buildings, reducing their overall carbon footprint but also comes with the added benefit of improved material properties. Biochar application in building materials could thus provide a scalable carbon storage pathway, enabling biochar offtake at a large scale and considerable emissions reductions in the built environment. 🌐 Real-world projects that are turning this concept into reality already exist today. Stay tuned as we’ll spotlight two of our amazing partner companies in this field over the next few days. With non-soil application types already implemented in biochar methodologies under the carbon removal standards Verra VCS, Puro.earth, and Carbon Standards International, they can be certified under a third-party standard to generate carbon removal credits. However, these carbon quantification schemes must be harmonized between the in-value-chain accounting needs in the construction sector (e.g. environmental product declarations, EPDs, and corresponding product life cycle analyses, LCAs), and the carbon removal certification ecosystem. Clear guidance must be established, e.g. for the allocation of emissions to energy and physical material outputs, the end-of-life scenario and sink durability, and data tracking requirements. This is where robust #MRV systems can provide #transparency and promote #accuracy. 📣 Policy as a huge lever: The accelerated scaleup of this solution is in part hindered by current norms and regulations in the building sector that aren't tailored to the use of innovative materials with a reduced carbon footprint yet. Additionally, there is a lack of incentives to not only avoid CO2 emissions but to sequester carbon in durable construction materials. Policy could drive a regenerative industry by facilitating an overhaul of regulation to incorporate the concept of durable carbon storage, fostering #innovation in materials and data tracking, and engage public procurement to demand green alternatives. Working on biochar application in building materials? Reach out to our supply team to learn how we can support you in gaining access to the #carbonremoval credit market: https://lnkd.in/gjbijiE2 Interested in exploring carbon removal credits based on biochar application in building materials as part of your #CDR portfolio? Get started here: https://lnkd.in/g8vrCcmx