Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction - Beyond foundations: Mainstreaming sustainable solutions to cut emissions from the buildings sector
The Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction (Buildings-GSR), published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), provides an annual snapshot of the progress of the buildings and construction sector on a global scale. The Buildings-GSR reviews the status of policies, finance, technologies and solutions to monitor whether the sector is aligned with the Paris Agreement goals. The Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2024-2025 - Not just another brick in the wall highlights progress made on related global climate goals and calls for greater ambition on six challenges, including building energy codes, renewable energy, and financing. Global frameworks and initiatives such as Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate, the Buildings Breakthrough and the Declaration de Chaillot are sustaining momentum towards adopting ambitious climate action plans, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), for net-zero buildings ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil. Despite this progress, the sector remains a key driver of the climate crisis, consuming 32 per cent of global energy and contributing to 34 per cent of global CO2 emissions. The sector is dependent on materials like cement and steel that are responsible for 18% of global emissions and are a major source of construction waste.
Carbon pricing and planning capacity are becoming decisive tests for sustainable construction. A potential UK–EU emissions trading system relink would intensify scrutiny of embodied carbon, whole life carbon and the carbon footprint of construction, particularly for developers, contractors and manufacturers exposed to steel, cement, glass and logistics costs.
As the EU carbon border regime hardens, whole life carbon assessment, lifecycle assessment and transparent environmental product declarations (EPDs) will become more important for proving lower emissions and managing life cycle cost.
The market signal is clear: low carbon construction materials, low embodied carbon materials, green building products and sustainable material specification will carry growing commercial value. Firms pursuing net zero carbon buildings, net zero whole life carbon and credible low carbon design will be better placed than those delaying investment in decarbonising the built environment. BREEAM, BREEAM v7 and stronger building lifecycle performance metrics are likely to gain influence as clients seek verifiable evidence of environmental sustainability in construction.
Delivery remains a major constraint. UK local authorities continue to miss planning deadlines despite increased use of planning performance agreement fees, exposing a capacity gap that threatens housing, retrofit, green infrastructure and clean energy schemes. Sustainable building design depends not only on eco-design for buildings, energy-efficient buildings and circular economy in construction, but also on a public planning system able to process projects at the pace required for net zero carbon delivery.
Climate risk is no longer a distant design scenario. Drought in Yorkshire and the spread of inland “ghost forests” in the US show that water stress, heat and ecological disruption are affecting regions once viewed as relatively resilient. Sustainable architecture, eco-friendly construction and low-impact construction must now treat water efficiency, overheating control, landscape resilience, nature-based drainage and resource efficiency in construction as core risk-management measures.
Green construction is moving from aspiration to financial and regulatory reality. Circular economy principles, renewable building materials, end-of-life reuse in construction and circular construction strategies will increasingly shape procurement, design and asset value. The built environment’s next phase will be defined by measurable carbon footprint reduction, resilient sustainable urban development and sustainable building practices grounded in hard evidence, not marketing claims.
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