Low-Carbon Materials Become a Design Expectation
Sustainability in design is now focusing on materials with low embodied energy, such as recycled steel and reclaimed timber. Experts in a recent design forum urged designers to specify products with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to ensure supply chain transparency and meet growing client demand for eco-conscious homes.
The focus on low-carbon materials is a direct response to the significant environmental impact of the construction industry. Embodied carbon, which includes all greenhouse gas emissions from the extraction, manufacturing, and transportation of materials, accounts for 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike operational carbon, which can be reduced over time with energy efficiency, embodied carbon is locked in once a building is constructed. The global green building market is projected to grow from $700.96 billion in 2025 to $1.79 trillion by 2035. This growth is driven by increasing environmental awareness, and regulatory requirements. In the U.S. alone, LEED-certified projects have diverted over 80 million tons of waste from landfills. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are standardized documents that provide transparent information about the environmental impact of a product throughout its lifecycle. Governed by standards like ISO 14025 and EN 15804, EPDs are crucial for architects and designers to make informed decisions and are increasingly required for green building certifications such as LEED and BREEAM. While sustainable materials can sometimes have higher upfront costs, they often lead to long-term savings through reduced energy consumption and lower maintenance. Green buildings can lower operating costs by as much as 14% compared to traditional buildings. Certifications like LEED have been shown to reduce energy usage by 25%. Beyond timber and steel, innovations in low-carbon materials include geopolymer concrete, bio-based composites like hempcrete, and mycelium (a fungal network) used for insulation. Other emerging materials include carbon-negative bricks that absorb CO2 over time and even synthetic spider silk, which is five times stronger than steel. Leading green building certification systems, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), both have criteria for sustainable material use. LEED, widely used in North America, and BREEAM, prevalent in Europe, evaluate factors like waste management, energy efficiency, and the use of innovative, low-impact materials.
