The Global low-carbon construction material market is estimated to grow from $243.9 billion in 2022 to US$491.8 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 8.23 percent during the forecast period, according to the latest research by InsightAce Analytic.

The report states that low-carbon construction materials have a lower carbon footprint than standard building materials are they are intended to have a low environmental impact, notably in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, over their entire life cycle, from extraction and production to transportation, construction, and disposal.

“Consumers, corporations, and governments are becoming more aware of climate change and environmental conservation, encouraging them to use low-carbon building materials,” the report says. 

This understanding frequently translates into a willingness to pay a premium for environmentally friendly, long-lasting products.

Environmentally conscious clients are increasingly willing to pay more for homes and structures built with low-carbon materials. This demand forces builders and developers to incorporate environmentally friendly components into their projects.

The report explains that the need for low-carbon materials is driven by the requirement for robust buildings that can resist natural disasters and climate-related events.

“Continuous materials science research and development have produced novel low-carbon construction materials. These materials often have superior properties, making them attractive alternatives to traditional, carbon-intensive materials,” it says.

Manufacturing process advancements also help increase the availability of sustainable materials. These factors all contribute to the expansion of the low-carbon construction material market, making environmentally friendly alternatives a mainstream choice in the construction sector.

Challenges

Several constraints impede the widespread adoption of low-carbon construction materials in the market. Low-carbon construction materials frequently have higher upfront costs than standard ones.

Builders and developers may be hesitant to invest in these materials due to budget constraints, even if they offer long-term savings in terms of energy efficiency and lower operational expenses. Furthermore, inconsistent or imprecise legislation and building norms relating to low-carbon construction materials might provide difficulties.

The North American low-carbon Construction Material Market is expected to register a major market share in terms of revenue and it is projected to grow at a high CAGR in the near future. 

Consumers, corporations, and legislators are becoming more aware of climate change and environmental protection.

As individuals and organizations attempt to decrease their carbon footprints and contribute to environmental preservation, this awareness drives the need for low-carbon construction materials. 

The region's growing usage of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power generates demand for materials used in the construction of renewable energy infrastructure.

These factors, together with the region's commitment to sustainability and environmental conservation, contribute to the growth and development of North America's low-carbon construction material market.

Traditional building materials such as concrete, steel, and brick have long been staples in construction due to their strength and durability. 

However, their widespread use comes at a significant environmental cost. The production of these materials involves high energy consumption as well as high levels of embodied carbon emissions.  

Materials such as concrete, steel and aluminium are some of the most used materials in construction, however their production accounts for a substantial portion of global carbon dioxide emissions. 

The processes used to manufacture these materials all play a part in the final embodied carbon figure assigned to a building. These processes include raw material extraction, raw processing, melting, the manufacturing, and even transportation to site.

The literature has reported that approximately 0.9 tons of CO2 are emitted while producing 1 ton of cement (Roz-Ud-Din Nassar et al., 2022a), accounting for roughly 5 percent of the total anthropogenic CO2 emissions worldwide. 

Some researchers claim this percentage to be as high as 8 percent. 

Nearly 3.4 gigatons of CO2 were emitted from the manufacturing of cement and concrete in the year 2020. 

In addition to cement manufacturing, transporting constituent materials and finished concrete products contributes to carbon emissions.

According to United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)  the buildings and construction sector is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for a staggering 37 percent of global emissions. 

The production and use of materials such as cement, steel, and aluminum have a significant carbon footprint.

Historically, much of the sector's progress has centered around reducing the "operational” carbon emissions of buildings – those emissions stemming from heating, cooling, and lighting. Projections suggest that these operational emissions will decrease from 75 percent to 50 percent of the sector's total emissions in the coming decades.

However, solutions to mitigate the buildings "embodied" carbon emissions – originating from the design, production, and deployment of materials such as cement, steel, and aluminum – have lagged. To effectively address this challenge, international action and collaboration must bring together all stakeholders from across the entire lifecycle of the buildings sector, both within informal and formal settings.

Building Materials and the Climate: Constructing a New Future, a report developed by UNEP, Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture in the framework of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), highlights the pressing need to establish innovative cooperation models to decarbonize building materials. 

These models are critical if we are to achieve the world's ambitious target of net zero emissions from the built environment sector by mid-century.