The construction industry has a significant impact on the natural and built environment.

In 2013 construction sector makes up 18.1% of Australia’s carbon footprint. Largest contributors to construction carbon footprint are electricity, gas and water and materials.

Residential building and non-residential construction consume approximately 7.6% of total primary energy and produce approximately 6.0% of total greenhouse gas (equivalent) emissions when both direct and indirect inputs to the two sectors of the industry are considered (Foran, Lenzen, & Dey, 2005).

It is therefore important to us to adopt construction practices and utilise environmentally friendly materials that will help us reduce our carbon footprint.

One way in which we choose which materials are used for our builds is through our consideration of embodied energy. 

Embodied energy is defined as the total amount of energy used in the production process. 

Ensuring that where we source our materials and type of materials chosen for our projects are of low embodied energy will help us reduce our carbon footprint.