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Lower-carbon building materials are chosen by reducing how much new material a project needs, reusing what it can, and comparing suitable new products with life-cycle evidence—not by relying on a “green” label. For a new build or renovation, start with the design and the materials already on site; then compare product-specific environmental product declarations (EPDs), transport, durability, code compliance, and performance for the actual assembly.
What should you do before buying new materials?
First ask whether the project can avoid buying the material at all. Retaining an existing building or component, salvaging usable materials, and designing to reduce quantities can avoid some of the emissions associated with manufacturing new products. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identifies improved design and construction practices, as well as recycled or reused materials, as reduction strategies in its Embodied Carbon Reduction in New Construction reference guide.
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- Retain what can remain. Assess whether the building, structure, finishes, or components can be repaired and incorporated into the project. Avoid treating replacement as the default when an existing element can meet the project’s needs.
- Reduce quantities through design. Coordinate the design and construction approach so it does not specify more material than necessary. A lower-impact product may not make up for a design that uses substantially more material.
- Reuse or salvage suitable materials. Check condition, consistency, safety, certification, and whether the material meets the project specification. Reuse is not a reason to accept an unsuitable component.
- Specify new products using comparable evidence. When new material is needed, compare EPDs and other technical documentation on a like-for-like basis. Check the full assembly and project requirements, not just the material name.
This sequence matters because carbon comparisons can miss the biggest opportunity if they start and end with choosing a product. Reducing material demand or reusing an existing component can avoid manufacturing new material; a substitution decision concerns which new product to use after the project has established that new material is needed.
What does “embodied carbon” include?
Embodied carbon is the greenhouse-gas emissions associated with building materials and products across relevant life-cycle stages, excluding emissions from building operations. The DOE describes it as covering manufacturing, transport, installation, maintenance, and disposal; its calculation therefore depends on which stages the assessment includes.
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Emissions can arise from fuel used in extraction and manufacturing, chemical reactions such as cement production, transport to a site, and end-of-life handling. This is different from operational emissions associated with running a building. A material decision may affect embodied emissions, but it does not by itself establish the energy use or total carbon performance of the completed building.
Life-cycle assessment (LCA) can assess a product, a material, or a whole building. Product EPDs are standardized, third-party-verified disclosures based on LCAs and product category rules. They are useful evidence, but the number on an EPD is not a complete answer unless you know what product, performance, unit, and life-cycle scope it represents.
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How do you compare EPDs without drawing the wrong conclusion?
Compare EPDs only after checking that they describe products with the same function and comparable performance, use a matching declared unit, and cover a compatible scope. A lower headline global-warming-potential (GWP) figure is not enough if the underlying boundaries, methods, or included life-cycle stages differ.
The DOE cautions that EPDs are not designed to be directly comparable in every procurement context. Use this checklist before treating one product as lower-carbon than another:
| Check | What to look for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Function and performance | Do the products serve the same purpose and meet the relevant performance level? | A comparison is not meaningful if one product has a different function or does not satisfy the project specification. |
| Declared unit | Are quantities expressed using the same unit and basis? | Different units can make headline impacts look comparable when they are not. |
| Life-cycle stages | Which stages are included, and which are absent? | Many declarations focus on product stages A1–A3. Transport, installation, use, maintenance, and end-of-life may be treated differently or omitted. |
| Product category rules and method | Were the EPDs prepared under the same or compatible rules and methods? | Different rules can affect how impacts are calculated and reported. |
| Specificity | Is the declaration an industry-wide average, product-specific, facility-specific, or supply-chain-specific EPD? | A more specific EPD is closer to the actual manufacturer and product context, but it still needs a matching scope and boundary. |
| Project context | What transport to the site, expected service life, and whole-building implications can be supported by evidence? | A product-stage figure alone may leave important project effects outside the comparison. |
Record the scope and limitations as well as the reported GWP. If two declarations do not align, do not rank products on their headline figures alone. Ask the supplier for clarification or compare a different set of evidence that shares a consistent basis. If the decision affects the whole building, a whole-building LCA scenario can account for design quantities, structure, maintenance, and end-of-life more fully than a single-material substitution.
Which materials have lower-emissions alternatives?
Several familiar material categories offer opportunities to reduce emissions, but no category label guarantees a lower-impact choice. Australian government guidance identifies concrete, reinforcing steel, steel, aluminium, timber, masonry, and bricks as common categories for considering emissions reductions. California’s Buy Clean resources also cover structural steel, reinforcing steel, and flat glass. For each material, the right comparison depends on the product evidence and the project’s technical requirements.
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Concrete and cement
Concrete is a common place to examine lower-emissions specifications. Cement production can involve emissions from both fuel combustion and chemical reactions. Options described in the NSW technical note include replacing some carbon-intensive Portland cement with lower-carbon cementitious alternatives such as fly ash and ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS).
Do not specify a mix by its sustainability description alone. Strength, curing, exposure class, availability, and the project specification all matter. A mix must meet the required performance and be available for the project; its carbon figure also needs to be compared with an appropriate baseline and compatible EPD scope. Ireland’s public procurement guidance asks public bodies directly procuring cement or concrete to seek EPDs to EN 15804 or an equivalent standard.
Steel and reinforcing steel
Steel and rebar are identified as opportunity categories in government guidance, and structural and reinforcing steel are among the product groups named in California’s Buy Clean resources. Recycled content and the production route can affect a comparison, but a recycled-content percentage by itself does not prove that a product has lower embodied carbon.
Compare actual EPDs for products that meet the same structural and project requirements. Check the declared unit, product category rules, included stages, and the specificity of the declaration. If sourcing or production details differ, record that context instead of assuming that the material category or recycled-content claim settles the question.
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Timber is another category identified for lower-emissions opportunities. It can store biogenic carbon during its service life, but that fact alone does not establish that a particular timber product or building design is carbon-negative or lower-impact overall.
Consider sourcing, durability, transport, structural and fire requirements, and end-of-life assumptions. Compare the timber design with the actual alternative, including how much material each design uses and whether each meets the same project needs. Use project-matched life-cycle evidence rather than making a general claim about timber versus other materials.
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Aluminium, masonry, bricks, and glass
Australian government guidance includes aluminium, masonry, and bricks among material categories where emissions reductions may be considered. California’s Buy Clean resources also name flat glass. Manufacturing energy and transport are relevant to these comparisons, and local quality and performance requirements still apply.
Where available, look for product- and facility-specific evidence, then check its scope against the alternative. Confirm that the product meets the applicable specification and local requirements. A material with a lower reported factory-stage figure may not be the better project choice if the comparison excludes relevant transport or other life-cycle stages.
Bio-based insulation
Natural Resources Canada identifies sheep’s wool, hemp wool, wood fiber, and grass batts as examples of bio-based cavity insulation and notes availability from U.S. manufacturers. It recommends asking suppliers for an EPD. These options are candidates to evaluate—not a blanket recommendation for every wall, roof, or floor.
Check thermal performance, moisture behavior, fire treatment, pest considerations, installation details, local code approval, and availability for the intended assembly. Compare products that provide the required insulation performance, and confirm how the material will function with the rest of the assembly. An EPD does not establish that a product is technically suitable or accepted by the local authority.
What should you ask a supplier before specifying a product?
Ask for evidence that answers both the carbon question and the construction question. A useful request is specific: identify the project, intended application, required performance, and the documentation needed to evaluate the product.
- Can you provide the current EPD? Ask whether it is industry-wide, product-specific, facility-specific, or supply-chain-specific, and request the product category rules and declared unit.
- Which life-cycle stages does it cover? Ask whether the EPD includes only product stages A1–A3 or also transport, installation, use, maintenance, and end-of-life.
- Does the product meet the project specification? Request the technical information needed to confirm strength, thermal performance, quality, conformity, or other relevant requirements.
- Is it suitable and permitted for this assembly and location? Confirm code acceptance, certification where needed, installation requirements, and any project-specific approvals.
- Where is it made, and how will it reach the site? Transport is part of embodied carbon, so ask for relevant supply and delivery information rather than comparing factory figures as if they represented the whole project.
- What is known about durability and maintenance? Consider expected service life and maintenance where reliable evidence is available. A product-stage declaration may not answer those questions.
- If it contains reused or recycled material, what is documented? Check condition, consistency, recycled-content proportions, safety, quality, and conformity with the specification. Government procurement guidance calls for reporting recycled-content proportions without compromising safety, quality, or conformance.
- Can the supplier meet the project’s timing and quantity? Availability and delivery matter: a product is not a practical specification if it cannot be obtained when and where it is needed.
Cost belongs in the decision, but a price quote does not answer the carbon or technical questions. Evaluate environmental evidence alongside project cost, performance, procurement requirements, and availability rather than using one as a substitute for the others.
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Can a tool help find and compare EPDs?
Yes. Building Transparency describes EC3 as a free, open-access tool with an EPD database. Its stated uses include finding and comparing materials using supply-chain-specific EPD data, planning and comparing project embodied-carbon emissions, and auditing digital EPDs. The organization’s live page reports more than 50,000 valid EPDs hosted; that is a provider-reported figure, not an independently verified count of the market.
EC3 can help locate candidate declarations, but it does not remove the need to check an EPD’s product, declared unit, rules, boundaries, and technical fit. Nor does a product database replace a whole-building assessment when the decision depends on quantities, structure, maintenance, or end-of-life. Treat a tool as a discovery and comparison aid, not as a substitute for project review.
Building Transparency also reports observed carbon-emission reductions of 30% or more in markets with EPD data, and describes specific project examples: at least 30% lower embodied carbon than a baseline for Microsoft’s Puget Sound project, and concrete specified at 20% less carbon than the industry baseline for Amazon’s Virginia headquarters. The live page does not state the publication year for these figures. They are provider-reported observations and case-study summaries, not results every project should expect.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do building-material requirements vary by location?
Yes. EPD rules, procurement requirements, and whole-life assessment obligations depend on the jurisdiction, project type, funding, and applicable dates. California and Ireland are examples, not universal rules; check the current requirements for the place and project where you are building.
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California’s Department of General Services maintains a Buy Clean California Act resource listing eligible materials and EPD requirements. Product groups can have different product category rule versions and validity periods, so verify the current requirements for the material and procurement in question.
Ireland’s public guidance, published in 2024 and updated in 2025, describes EPD expectations for cement and concrete and phased whole-life greenhouse-gas assessment requirements for funded building projects. Read the Irish procurement guidance for its scope and requirements; do not assume they apply outside the relevant Irish public-procurement context.
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For other jurisdictions, ask the project owner, design professional, procurement lead, or local authority which standards and approvals apply. A supplier’s claim that a product has an EPD does not by itself demonstrate compliance with a project’s procurement rules.
What is a practical low-carbon material buying process?
Use this sequence to turn the evidence into a specification decision:
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- Look for avoidance and retention opportunities. Consider whether the existing building or components can remain, whether quantities can be reduced, and whether suitable materials can be reused or salvaged.
- Identify viable new-product options. Include products that are locally available and technically suitable, not just products with appealing environmental descriptions.
- Collect comparable evidence. Request EPDs and technical documents. Compare like function, performance, declared unit, rules, boundaries, and degree of specificity.
- Account for the project context. Include transport and service-life effects where evidence allows, and consider the material’s role in the whole design.
- Verify compliance and delivery. Check applicable codes, certifications, procurement rules, quality, quantity, timing, and supplier availability before finalizing the specification.
- Document the basis for the choice. Note what was compared, which stages were covered, what remained uncertain, and why the selected option meets the project’s technical and procurement needs.
If the evidence is incomplete, state what it does and does not establish. A transparent comparison with explicit limitations is more useful than a confident ranking based on incompatible figures.
How should you make the final choice?
Choose the option that meets the project’s safety, code, quality, durability, and performance requirements while reducing material demand and life-cycle impacts as far as comparable evidence supports. Begin with retention, reduction, and reuse; then use matched EPDs and project context to compare new products. No single material label, recycled-content percentage, or headline carbon figure can make the decision on its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should review an EPD before it is used to approve a product?
The person responsible for the project specification or procurement should check whether the EPD matches the product and comparison, with technical or LCA support where needed. For regulated or funded work, confirm that the declaration and assessment method meet the applicable procurement rules rather than relying only on a supplier summary.
What if a supplier cannot provide an EPD?
You can still assess whether the product meets technical, safety, and code requirements, but you have less standardized evidence for comparing its reported life-cycle impacts. Ask what environmental and manufacturing information is available, document the evidence gap, and avoid presenting an unsupported carbon ranking as fact.
Does buying a bio-based material automatically make a building more sustainable?
No. A bio-based product still needs to perform in the intended assembly and meet code, durability, fire, moisture, and installation requirements. Its sourcing, transport, service life, and end-of-life assumptions also affect how a project-specific comparison should be interpreted.
Can an EPD tell me which product will cost less over the life of a building?
An EPD reports environmental impacts within its declared scope; it is not a price quote or a complete cost analysis. Assess purchase and project costs separately, and evaluate maintenance and service-life information when reliable data is available.
