Towards Built Environment Decarbonisation

The built environment is responsible for 40 percent of global carbon emissions, with embodied carbon emissions often being overlooked. Embodied carbon emissions are associated with the full supply chain of all materials and systems put into any built environment project and cannot be improved over the lifetime of a building, unlike operational carbon emissions. If embodied carbon emissions are not addressed before the building project moves past the design stage, there is no way to reclaim lost carbon savings once the building is constructed and subsequently used.

To bring attention to this important issue and the built environment sector’s influence on embodied carbon emissions, the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) maintains the Singapore Built Environment Embodied Carbon Pledge to help unify and amplify industry action. We invite all organisations involved in shaping our built environment to pledge your support and work together with other like-minded organisations to effect change. their contributions to sustainable development and the built environment sector.

Organisations with ambitions, intentions and solutions to address built environment embodied carbon emissions can pledge their commitment and then take broad-based actions anchored on the Pledge’s three key principles:

Opting for building materials with lower embodied carbon
Minimising materials usage and wastage through collaborative design and optimisation
Transforming construction site processes to utilise electricity and renewable sources of energy

BUILDING DEVELOPERS & BUILDING OWNERS	CONSULTANTS & SPECIFIERS	BUILDERS & CONTRACTORS	MANUFACTURERS & SOLUTION PROVIDERS
Create lead demand with procurement policies encouraging lower embodied carbon building materials and construction processes Measure carbon emissions from building materials and construction work	Optimise designs with resource efficiency objectives Specify lower embodied carbon building materials or alternatives	Measure and understand emissions from construction processe Transform construction processes to utilize electricity and renewable energy sources Minimise waste on site	Review manufacturing inputs and processes for resource optimization Review supply chain management for carbon reduction opportunities Increase transparency in carbon reporting
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES & INSTITUTIONS
Strengthen industry transformation efforts to address sustainability challenges Support Singapore enterprises to develop capabilities in sustainability Encourage industry to adopt more sustainable, low-carbon construction materials and practices

BUILDING DEVELOPERS & BUILDING OWNERS	CONSULTANTS & SPECIFIERS	BUILDERS & CONTRACTORS	MANUFACTURERS & SOLUTION PROVIDERS
Create lead demand with procurement policies encouraging lower embodied carbon building materials and construction processes Measure carbon emissions from building materials and construction work	Optimise designs with resource efficiency objectives Specify lower embodied carbon building materials or alternatives	Measure and understand emissions from construction processe Transform construction processes to utilize electricity and renewable energy sources Minimise waste on site	Review manufacturing inputs and processes for resource optimization Review supply chain management for carbon reduction opportunities Increase transparency in carbon reporting
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES & INSTITUTIONS
Strengthen industry transformation efforts to address sustainability challenges Support Singapore enterprises to develop capabilities in sustainability Encourage industry to adopt more sustainable, low-carbon construction materials and practices

Pledge Signatories

The following organisations have committed to accelerate the decarbonisation of the built environment sector by taking the necessary steps to reduce embodied carbon in their projects, enabled by SGBC’s framework of support, knowledge, expertise and resources.

Total Number of Pledge Signatories: 100