The IEA report published on March 22nd 2019 : Material efficiency lever to help deliver clean energy transition

This report provides a deep dive into the new and interesting approach to Climate Mitigation beyond the traditional reduction measures in material production. It suggests that further ambition on material efficiency throughout the value chain can achieve emissions reductions that reduce deployment needs for low carbon industrial process technologies. Some recent reports such as the Energy Transition Commission and the ETH Zurich (“A Sustainable Future for the EU Cement and Concrete Industry”) had already explored the potential savings down the value chain but the IEA is making here a significant contribution to the debate. It puts forward interesting policy recommendations over the whole building value chain, outlining key policy and stakeholder actions to improve material efficiency. The report explores reduction down the value chain at each of the design, construction, operation (use) and end of life stages. It shows that the use phase offers the largest potential followed by the design and construction stage. The strategies include structural optimisation and avoidance of over-engineering and reducing on-site construction waste. The report highlights that the importance of extending building lifetime to reduce material demands. This lifetime extension is the result of retrofit and repurposing and is reliant on careful design and resilient materials.

Also, as a starting point, the report acknowledges the essential role of materials as building blocks for society and recognises that the demand for some materials may moderately increase while delivering favourable emissions benefits at other points in the value chain. From that perspective, the report contains an interesting and useful analysis of the complex relationship which exist between material demand and macroeconomic and societal development, and recognises that construction materials can facilitate emission reductions in other sectors.

When it comes to material substitution, the report interestingly highlights that a “life-cycle analysis of material substitution opportunities should look at the sustainability and availability of material supply (including potential competition with other uses such as biomass combustion for heat production in the case of wood) and the related energy and environmental consequences of new development patterns incurred by the new structure (on operational energy needs, land use change, potential urban sprawl,…)”.

 The report proves to be timely input to the recently launched GCCA work program especially when it comes to:

• Increasing data collection, life cycle assessment and benchmarking
• Improving consideration of lifecycle impact in climate action regulations and at the design stage
• Adopting business model and practices that advance end of life re-purposing, reuse and recycling
• Capacity building and sharing best practices 

 Involvement of the whole value chain and all stakeholders will be required to accelerate the efficient use of materials and the GCCA is actively working in that direction.