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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 05/08/2026

We present the relative change in #cumulative emissions (from energy use, from materials processing) per #capita when applying a specific #strategy, or all of them in the case of the SMART (Strategy #Mix Approach for Robust Trajectories) scenario, compared to the BAU (Business-As-Usual) scenario.

Figure 2: Maps showing per capita embodied and operational GHG emissions for different EU Member States in 2020, and the projected per capita life cycle GHG emissions reductions by 2030 and 2050 under the SMART scenario compared to BAU, highlighting potential shared reduction efforts.

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 05/08/2026

💐The #solution, if you want, is more about a bouquet of flowers (diverse mix of strategies), rather than a single silver bullet. 🧭 Which strategies work where, you wonder? Read the #paper! For each country, we identify the strategies that maximize projected reductions to inform #policy design.

Figure 3: Relative change in cumulative GHG emissions when applying a specific strategy, or all of them in the case of the SMART (Strategy Mix Approach for Robust Trajectories) scenario, compared to the BAU (Business-As-Usual) scenario, reported in percent (%)

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 05/08/2026

❗Overreliance on energy #efficiency and material #production exceeds national capacities by 2.72 Gt CO2e, 32% of required #reduction. A combined approach including reduced average space per capita, circularity measures, and bio‑based materials achieves additional 2.19 Gt CO2e *WITHIN* #capacities.

SER Framework: Sufficiency Should be First - COP26 - (C) Yamina Saheb

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 05/08/2026

🤔 But how can these emission reduction be achieved across Member States, considering their diversity and different capacities for #scaling and implementing low #carbon solutions? (Here we build on context-specific potentials of various carbon reduction and removal strategies doi.org/10.1016/j.je...)

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 05/08/2026

📉 We modeled the past, present, and future building stocks for all 27 EU Member States and evaluated 4096 life cycle emission #scenarios, considering national capacities. Our analysis shows that achieving #targets requires avoiding 8.53 Gt CO2e in 2020-2050 (~10 years of 2020 emissions).

Figure 1: Annual life cycle greenhouse gas emissions for the building stock of the EU across multiple future scenarios, detailing strategy implementation and showing emission breakdown by life cycle stage for three key scenarios

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 05/08/2026

🎯 The #EU aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 relative to 1990 and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Yet, translating these targets into pathways for #buildings and construction is challenging across diverse national contexts. (See: climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/cl...)

2040 climate target of the European Union - Screenshot from the European Commission's related web page

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 05/08/2026

🎉 New article @nature.com! Ever wondered how the European Union can effectively reduce and remove life cycle #emissions of building construction and operation and reach its #climate targets across Member States? Check this out! 👇 Available #OpenAccess - Free download via: doi.org/10.1038/s414...

New article: Context-specific life cycle emissions pathways for EU buildings and construction - Screenshot of the abstract and first page

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 24/06/2026

🎉👏 #Habitat2030 Sommerfest this Friday! "Wie kann uns eine radikale Dekarbonisierung der Bauwirtschaft bis 2030 gelingen?" Gestartet vor drei Jahren mit dieser folgenreichen Frage, wollen wir feiern was gelungen ist und Kraft tanken für das was bevorsteht.

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 19/06/2026

📣 Register to our #Webinar on #India Buildings and Construction Whole Life Carbon #WLC and Emissions Reduction - Register today! 📅 Date: 1st July 2026, Wednesday ⏰ Time: 9:00- 10:15 (CET) Registration via shorturl.at/GQVWW

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 12/06/2026

The link to your substack critique article above doesn't seem to work. Can you pls check and provide a functional link? I'm curious to learn more.

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 30/04/2026

💬 Nice to see the GBDI booth, alongside partners CWSC and LC3 (Low Carbon Cement), served as a vibrant hub for discussion. The conversations during networking events sparked meaningful exchanges, highlighting a shared commitment to turning data into evidence-based actions.

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 30/04/2026

📊 We co-led a workshop “Minimum Viable Carbon Accounting Principles” w/ @gbdi.io, @unep.org RICS, RMI, @riselabs.at, WBCSD, BPIE, CLF, Autodesk, and UNU-FLORES. Great input from participants reinforced urgency and need for harmonized, practical WLC data. Details: sustainable-construction.org/acc/

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 30/04/2026

😃What a week! - Quick recap on the Sustainable Buildings & Construction Summit 2026 in Lausanne, Switzerland, organized by UNEP, GlobalABC and EPFL’s Centre for Worldwide Sustainable Construction. @unep.org @join-globalabc.bsky.social @gbdi.io

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 20/04/2026

Yves-Laurent Sapoval @join-globalabc.bsky.social on money: Real estate is 50% of global wealth. Trillions and trillions on the one hand (wealth and value of assets) - and still a lack of money for solutions to secure these on the other. Solutions need funds to become available, scalable, adaptable!

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 20/04/2026

Btw - to get a full picture on the summit and the program we engage in across these three days you can find the details on that and much more via the official website 👉 sustainable-construction.org/prog/ #BuildForClimate #SustainableBuildings #SBCS2026 #ResilientBuildings #ClimateAction

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 20/04/2026

Impressive keynote by Chinese delegate Wang Wei on the plans and progress for sustainable construction across China. Important advances on energy efficiency in buildings! Not yet covered are material-related embodied emissions --> we partner with Chinese experts to push #EmbodiedCarbon at @gbdi.io

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 20/04/2026

Progress updates from Brazil and Turkye on both the challenge of building - 1,0 Mio additional homes a year (Brazil) - while also reducing emissions and improving resilience to climate change effects. #SustainableConstruction

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 20/04/2026

EPFL and Swiss officials welcoming the delegates, emphasizing importance of sustainable buildings and construction globally - today (1/3 of global CO2 emissions) and in the future (3/4 of buildings in 2050 yet to be built - mostly in Africa and Asia)

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 20/04/2026

Welcome to the Global Sustainable Buildings & Construction Summit in Lausanne, cohosted by @unep.org @join-globalabc.bsky.social @EPFL. We are starting - follow along! 👇

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 05/11/2025

I'm in Cape Town kicking off the NetZero Future Conference 2025. It's a great opportunity to connect with local experts and explore potential collaborations. Together we implement Whole Life Cycle thinking in South Africa and across the continent. Excited for the days to come... Follow along!

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 24/09/2025

We are planning joint activities for advancing #LCA, low carbon and climate resilient construction with partners on the continent. We will develop accessible, easy to use LCA tools to support uptake of low carbon, climate resilient buildings. Curious to learn more or eager to join, get in touch!

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 24/09/2025

Last week I got to join an insightful exchange with African partners in context of #LC3 Low Carbon Cement at #EPFL. Great resonance with our work at @gbdi.io on leveraging life cycle data to reduce resource use, embodied whole life cycle emissions. Looking forward to deepening our collaborations!

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 13/08/2025

WLC-Scenario-Explorer features include: - Interactive exploration of building stock-level WLC results for EU27 and individual MS (2020-2050) - Predefined and custom scenarios: Policy-aligned outlooks (CPOL, APOL), explorative futures - Contribution analysis, hotspots, and much more (see pic)

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 13/08/2025

😃🎉 We are live! Meet the new WLC Scenario Explorer, our open-source tool for interactive exploration of whole life cycle (WLC) emission scenario results on future #buildings and #construction activity in Europe and beyond. Learn how it can help you advance building #decarbonization!

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 24/06/2025

👀 Also, I warmly invite you to join us in session SAS-03: Strategies and Mitigation Pathways at National Building Stock Level 🥳 There we will launch the "WLC-Scenario-Explorer: An Open Tool for Scenario-Based Analysis of Building Stock Whole Life Cycle Emission Potentials"

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 24/06/2025

#Zurich, here we come! On my way to #SBE25, the Sustainable Built Environment Conference. 🛤️😃 🎊 I am looking forward to meeting up with many old and new colleagues and to learning more about the latest research and innovations for "Shaping Tomorrow: Systems Thinking in the Built Environment"

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 11/03/2025

#PostDoc opportunity on dynamic Life Cycle Assessment #LCA and Whole Life Carbon #WLC monitoring for #buildings and building stocks at #EPFL as part of the Global Building Data Initiative. Work on spatiotemporal methods and models to inform global policy. Apply now! careers.epfl.ch/job/Lausanne...

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 03/03/2025

The role focuses on #development of novel methods for #environmental modelling of #global building stock dynamics, including strategies for #carbon reduction and removal. You will work on a global #tracker for whole life carbon, and will have the chance to join us in developing GBDI.

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 07/01/2025

🪨Detailed quantification and analysis shows raw material supply (A1) contributes 80 % of total GWP, followed by transport (A2) at 1 %, production (A3) at 7 %, transport to site (A4) at 3 %, construction (A5) at 3 %, use phase (B1-B3) at <1 %, waste processing (C3) at 1 %, and disposal (C4) at 3 %.

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 07/01/2025

🏗️Assessing whole life cycle embodied carbon impacts among these material groups, aluminium exhibits the highest GWP average score of GWP per mass unit at 21 kg CO2e/kg, while concrete has the lowest at 0.09 kg CO2e/kg. Also materials like plastics, paint, or plaster have substantial impact per kg.

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 07/01/2025

♻️Want to better understand the GHG emission intensity of construction products? We quantified climate impact of 8.000+ building materials across the EU through data compilation and statistical analysis of Global Warming Potential (GWP) in Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)... Check it out! 👇🧵

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 01/01/2025

✨ A tradition for us every year is enjoying a family morning while watching the New Year's Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. And now with ourselves even based in the very city. Wishing you all the best for 2025: Prosit Neujahr! 🎉🥂

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 24/12/2024

🎊🌲 Merry Christmas and, soon, a Happy New Year everyone! 🎉👏 Let's make some good new year's resolutions. Such as taking more time to feel and to think 🫶🏳️‍🌈 "Stop, drop, and think.' Thanks for this fitting piece @natureportfolio.bsky.social

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 09/12/2024

🏢The Italian team is working together with the goal of supporting industry and policy action on #WholeLifeCarbon (WLC), and support the efficient implementation of the #EPBD. Thanks to University of Bergamo, ENEA, Politecnico di Milano, Harpaceas Srl, Politecnico di Torino, and GBC Italia!

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 09/12/2024

🎊 Splendid kick-off and first design sprint with one of the national teams in our new #INDICATELIFE project, now funded under EU LIFE framework by CINEA - European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency. First up: Italy! With two intense days in the beautiful city of #Milan.

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 03/12/2024

Yes please! Seems it's been a while since I took a photo. Now based in Vienna. Still brompting! ✌️❤️

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 18/11/2024

- Applicability and impact of CRRS like circularity and renovation over new construction increase as supply chains, skills develop across EU. - Due to different potentials and times of implementation, the entire range of strategies is needed to support building and construction decarbonization.

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 18/11/2024

- Here, we systematically identify, classify and quantify the impacts of CRRS, and assess their applicability in different EU MS. - We identify 35 measures x 11 CRRS for life cycle of buildings. We classify them along various criteria, such as avoid–shift–improve or life cycle stages influenced.

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 18/11/2024

🤔 Ever wonder which strategies are effective for #WholeLifeCycle GHG emissions reduction and removal? 🌱 See our new review of 11 strategies/ 35 measures incl. their impacts and diffusion potentials across #EU Member States!👇 🌐 Find the full publication online (OpenAccess): doi.org/10.1016/j.je...

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Martin Röck @martinroeck.com · 17/11/2024

📢 NEW REPORT! As urgent action is needed on Whole Life Carbon (WLC) emissions, we here show "How to establish Whole Life Carbon benchmarks" as the basis for rapid emission reduction 👇

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