Even as operational building emissions decline through renewable energy and retrofits, the carbon embedded in construction materials — cement, steel, glass, insulation — remains a massive blind spot. Manufacturing cement alone produces 8% of global CO2. As cities renovate and build to meet climate targets, they risk creating a paradox: reducing operational emissions while increasing embodied emissions from the construction boom itself.
Basel-Stadt is poised to become the first Swiss canton with binding GHG emission limits for construction by 2026. A new demolition compensation fee for buildings younger than 60 years will discourage unnecessary teardowns. TEP Energy has conducted a Scope 3 building stock study quantifying embodied carbon for the first time.