The concept of reducing carbon emissions in building construction has evolved significantly over time—from “low carbon” to “zero carbon” strategies—while also embracing principles such as the circular economy and full lifecycle sustainability. These topics have gained global attention, with many countries now prioritizing carbon reduction starting from the construction phase.
For example, developed nations like the UK, the Netherlands, and Sweden have recently introduced zero carbon or zero oil communities. Notably, the UK’s updated building regulations, effective since 2016, require all new buildings to achieve zero carbon emissions. In Japan, the government has promoted the Circular Society Promotion Act and established a waste network platform to improve waste management efforts.
According to media reports, by 2010 the environmental protection and resource recycling market—including sectors such as automotive, food, non-ferrous metals, packaging containers, and construction—had reached approximately 400 billion yen (around 112.5 billion New Taiwan dollars). China has also launched its first zero carbon community: the Yangzhou Guangling Zero Carbon Community. This illustrates that, whether in developed or developing countries, achieving zero carbon remains a top priority, with ongoing efforts to foster sustainable environments.
Below are some key impacts driven by the zero carbon movement:
1. Localization of Building Materials
Future building materials will increasingly focus on reducing their embodied energy—the total energy consumed during raw material extraction, manufacturing, and transportation to the construction site. To minimize embodied energy, the industry is shifting towards using locally sourced materials, typically obtained within approximately 500 miles of the construction site.
Using local materials lowers the energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with transportation during construction. Many countries encourage this practice through policy incentives. For instance, the United States promotes sourcing building materials within 500 miles and favors materials that are naturally abundant, such as bamboo and linen.
2. Growing Popularity of Environmentally Friendly Building Materials
Traditional inorganic building materials—like concrete, glass, and synthetic polymers—consume vast amounts of energy during production and are often non-recyclable. Prolonged use of these materials poses significant environmental challenges. In particular, reinforced concrete (RC) buildings contribute heavily to carbon emissions throughout manufacturing, construction, and disposal phases, while also typically offering poor insulation performance.
Consequently, many advanced countries are reducing their reliance on RC buildings and promoting eco-friendly alternatives. Environmentally friendly building materials are characterized by renewability, recyclability, energy efficiency, and safety. These include recyclable products, materials derived from waste, low-carbon footprint materials, and organic options.
Examples currently in use include bamboo, recycled paper, composites made from tomato skins, thin snow grass materials, recycled bricks, and repurposed waste tires.
3. Market Potential for Resource Recycling Technologies
Future building waste—including kitchen scraps, wastewater, garbage, and carbon dioxide—will increasingly be repurposed by other systems. Emerging technologies such as kitchen waste recycling and composting, carbon sequestration, carbon capture, and waste recycling offer significant market potential.
Currently, several regions in the UK have implemented technologies like waste incineration, direct power generation, heating applications, and integration within buildings, demonstrating promising advancements in this field.
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