According to recent reports, the carbon footprint of the construction industry is decreasing faster than estimated. The survey revealed the means of reducing emissions used by companies, which are expected to be used on a larger scale than at present in the next few years.
The construction industry can significantly support the achievement of Finland's carbon neutrality goal. The journey and steps to emission reductions were studied four years ago as part of the Low-carbon construction industry 2035 road map. This year, the road map was updated based on new calculations.
36 percent of the annual carbon footprint of the entire built environment comes from emissions during the construction phase, i.e. materials, site operations, logistics and waste. The share of construction materials is the largest of these in both house and infrastructure construction.
In a survey related to updating the road map, the member companies of Construction Industry RT told what measures are being taken to reduce emissions now and what they plan to do in the near future. In support of the survey, interviews were carried out in which low-carbon pioneering companies talked about their solutions and plans.
Based on the results, low-carbon measures will become mainstream by 2030.
In house and infrastructure construction, emissions are reduced, especially in site operations
In house and infrastructure construction companies, the most widely used are the means aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of construction site operations and extending the life cycle of structures. At the construction site, emissions are saved by using, for example, fossil-free fuels or electric machines and renewable energy.
Almost a third of the respondents said that they implement low-emission construction site activities in several or even all of their construction sites. When we include companies where low-carbon construction site operations are in the pilot stage, we are talking about almost 70 percent of the companies that responded to the survey.
In terms of materials, the most popular measures to save the environment are the reuse of structures and building products, such as steel structures, concrete and bricks, and increasing the use of recycled materials.
More than a fifth of the respondents said that they have increased the use of recycled materials and almost a quarter reuse structures and construction products in several or all of their construction sites. The actions are important, because 78 percent of the emissions from construction activities are related to building materials. However, reuse often still runs into legal obstacles, among other things.
Construction companies cooperate with, among other things, material suppliers to develop low-emission solutions. However, the use of low-carbon materials is not yet established in house and infrastructure construction. The reason is above all the price or poor availability of low-carbon solutions. For example, only pilot batches of fossil-free steel have been produced so far, while low-emission concrete is already quite well available.
In infrastructure construction, emission reduction potential can be found in addition to site activities and materials, especially in the regional utilization of aggregates, which reduces the need for transportation, and the use of recycled and recycled materials.
The building product industry uses renewable energy and recycled materials
Most of the companies in the construction product industry said that they use energy efficiency measures in several or all of their production facilities. 60 percent of respondents use renewable energy in their production or have electrified their manufacturing processes.
Recycled materials are also used to an increasing extent. More than one in three companies in the building products industry said that they use recycled materials in their production in several or all of their applications. In addition, about a third of the companies that responded to the survey said that the use of recycled materials is at the pilot stage.
Based on the answers to the survey, it can be assumed that the use of recycled materials will become more common before the large-scale introduction of other low-carbon materials. Most of the operators consider 2035 to be a realistic schedule for fossil-free steel and low-carbon concrete, cement and asphalt to be used on a large scale.
It is believed that the greatest emission reduction potential can be found in the low carbonization of very energy-intensive building materials, such as steel and cement.
The companies are well aware that in the future, for example, it will be necessary to be able to replace the high-emission raw materials of cement with other substances.
It is hoped that the scenario calculations of the low-carbon road map will give additional impetus to companies' measures. According to the scenarios, for example, in house construction, it can be about a couple of million tons of possible carbon emission reductions.
Motivation is high and regulation is tightening
The survey and interviews confirm that the construction industry is motivated to promote the circular economy and reduce emissions in many ways.
Environment and energy director responsible for RT's road map work Pekka Vuorinen points out that the implementation of emission reductions also requires determined action by the state.
"Finland has all the conditions to promote low carbon in the construction industry, but the regulation should be material and technology neutral and the requirements should be realistic and encouraging," says Vuorinen.
He sends greetings to the companies by stating that even though quick actions and big investments should be aimed at big emissions, even small emission reduction measures are part of responsible business operations.
In addition to voluntary actions, national construction legislation strongly guides low-carbon construction. For example, the new construction law that will come into effect at the beginning of 2025 brings with it requirements for the carbon footprint of buildings.
The EU legislation's large 2030 readiness package aimed at achieving the 55 climate goals also directs the construction industry towards even stricter emission reductions.
Among other things, the significant tightening of emissions trading, especially with regard to the emissions of construction materials, and the tighter emission targets of the burden-sharing sector with regard to construction site operations act as drivers.
Regulation at EU and national level aims for energy efficiency in new buildings, low-carbon building materials, and emission-free energy use in buildings as early as 2030. For the entire existing building stock, the change to emission-free energy consumption during use must be implemented by 2050.
Historical road map work
The construction industry RT prepared with its stakeholders Low-carbon construction industry 2035 roadmap. It was completed in 2020 and updated in 2024.
In the road map work, the annual carbon footprint of the construction industry and the built environment, the means of reducing emissions and their prerequisites were determined for the first time at the level of the whole of Finland. At the same time, scenarios for the future until 2050 were created. The goal was to identify the largest areas of emission reductions, the measures enabling low carbon and the key obstacles.
In the updated road map to be implemented by Gaia Consulting Oy102 companies answered the question. There were large and medium-sized as well as small and micro-enterprises. The majority of the actors who responded were from the building and construction side. There were also companies from the construction product industry. The interviews were conducted in six pioneering companies.