Limited materials, data and benchmarking hamper building green

Beca structural engineer Phoebe Moses has been helping develop a framework to reduce building emissions. (Image: Supplied)

Andrea Malcolm

Mon, 02 Sep 2024

With the Government unlikely to mandate Building Code changes to slash New Zealand’s building emissions, there are plenty of drivers but also barriers for the sector to go green of its own accord. The built environment contributes 20% of NZ’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through carbon in building materials and the construction process (embodied carbon), and carbon emitted during the operation of buildings over their lifetime. With NZ’s 85% renewable electricity grid, attention is turning to reducing embodied carbo...

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