Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Written By:
GreenJams
2 min
Tags:
Press & Media
Embodied Carbon in Construction: Why the Climate Debt Is Growing
Construction isn’t just building shelter — it is accruing a massive carbon debt that threatens global climate targets. Far from being a background contributor, the sector sits at the centre of the climate crisis. This is the problem of embodied carbon in construction — and it demands urgent attention.
Cement is the primary culprit. Its manufacture accounts for roughly 7–8% of global CO₂ emissions, exceeding the combined emissions of aviation and shipping. More than half of construction-related emissions come from cementitious materials, bricks and metals, with cement’s chemical calcination process alone responsible for around 60% of its output. If cement were a country, it would rank as the fourth-largest emitter globally. Steel compounds this burden as cities grow taller and denser.
These emissions aren’t abstract statistics — they translate into heat stress, air pollution, crop failure and infrastructure strain that cities are already struggling to absorb.
The Hidden Carbon Cost of Materials
Embodied carbon in construction refers to emissions released during material extraction, manufacturing, transport and construction. Crucially, these emissions are released upfront — often before a building is occupied — and cannot be offset later through operational efficiency. Life-cycle assessments increasingly show embodied carbon can account for 20–50% of a building’s lifetime emissions, and even more in highly efficient or net-zero buildings. Material choice is therefore one of the most decisive climate levers in modern construction.
Why Embodied Carbon Threatens Climate Targets
The World Green Building Council has identified embodied carbon as one of the fastest-growing sources of building emissions worldwide. Reducing operational energy alone will not deliver the emissions cuts required to meet the Paris Agreement. The industry must cut carbon at the source through material innovation, smarter design and a fundamental rethink of how buildings are made.
Every tonne of carbon avoided today prevents decades of cumulative climate damage. The next decade is decisive. The buildings designed and specified today will lock in emissions profiles for 50–100 years.
From Carbon Emissions to Carbon Storage
This is where GreenJams’ work becomes climate-critical.
GreenJams addresses embodied carbon in construction at the material layer, developing bio-based construction materials from agricultural residues that would otherwise be burned in open fields. Its flagship product, Agrocrete®, replaces conventional clay bricks and cement-intensive masonry with a mineralised, crop-residue-based alternative.
According to its independently verified Environmental Product Declaration (EN 15804+A2), Agrocrete® demonstrates a net-negative cradle-to-gate global warming potential of –0.14 kg CO₂e per kg of material (A1–A3), driven by biogenic carbon storage from agricultural straw. That equates to –140 kg CO₂e per tonne of material before construction even begins — in stark contrast to conventional masonry products that carry strongly positive embodied emissions at the same stage.
The future of construction is not about minimizing harm — it is about designing buildings that actively repair the atmosphere.
As carbon regulation tightens and ESG scrutiny deepens, embodied carbon is moving from the margins to the mainstream of construction decision-making. The embodied carbon debt of construction is real — but it is not inevitable. The transition to carbon-storing construction is no longer a question of possibility — it is a question of speed.
Climate action in construction doesn’t start at building operations. It starts at the wall.
To learn more about carbon-storing materials and embodied carbon accounting, explore our research and project case studies.
👉 Stay tuned for more updates on how GreenJams is transforming the built environment, one carbon-negative block at a time.
Agrocrete® Blocks
