Is the Greenest Building the One Already Standing: A Synthesis Map

Buildings contribute 39% to global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and 17% to Canada’s GHG emissions. Addressing carbon emissions from the built environment is an urgent, critical need to make progress towards our global climate targets. There are two primary sources of GHG emissions connected to buildings: embodied carbon, which is the carbon emitted in processes related to materials extraction, manufacturing, transport, construction, and decommissioning; and operational carbon, which is the carbon emitted to power and heat the building while in use. Taken together, these two types of emissions are called whole-life carbon. As power grids in Canada decarbonize and on-site energy generation becomes more common, embodied carbon will contribute a greater percentage to a building’s carbon profile and be a more impactful avenue for intervention. However, delaying action on embodied carbon risks “locking in” a higher carbon profile in the built environment for the next 50 to 60 years, the typical lifespan of Canadian buildings. This synthesis map explores the whole carbon profile of buildings to better understand the influences, challenges, and opportunities to reduce carbon emissions from the building sector. We invite you to read this map starting from the introduction on the left side, then to explore the five sections, which are titled, coded with stakeholder icons, and have brief descriptions, in the order that interests you. The legend on the bottom left explains the icons used to identify the key stakeholders for each section of the map. The associated design brief provides a more detailed exploration of the topic, including the background and context for each element of the synthesis map and a roadmap for how to reach a net zero building sector by 2050