Catalysing climate finance for low-carbon construction: Insights from industry leaders

  • 23.12.2024
  • 3 min

Last month, sales of new battery electric vehicles reached a milestone – hitting 25% of all new car sales for November. Yet, even with this good news, the 2030 ban on the sale of new ICE cars is fast approaching, and overall adoption rates are plateauing. And while Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate is placing immediate pressure on automakers to scale production, we need renewed urgency across the entire value chain in tackling the systemic changes and innovations needed to drive growth.

In this article from Xynteo’s Amy Marshall and Ashish Pandey, we unpack some of the key points from our recent EV roundtable discussion – as we all look to a world of zero emissions, electric transportation.

Build Ahead launches Build Better, a new tool for construction developers in India to measure embodied carbon

  • 08.11.2024
  • 4 min

The built environment in India comprising a huge 32% of the nation’s carbon emissions – and ‘embodied carbon’ a third of that contribution – addressing the challenge of carbon-intensive materials used in construction is critical. Today, Build Ahead is excited to launch its Build Better embodied carbon measurement tool as an important step to understand, measure, and tackle our ambitions …

Carbon Labelling, A Powerful Tool For Decarbonisation

  • 27.07.2024
  • < min
Carbon labelling, A powerful tool for decarbonisation

Build Ahead has investigated urban housing challenges in India, explored the carbon emissions associated with the built environment, and proposed a framework for carbon labelling of construction materials. Our research shows that by 2047, the majority of India’s population is expected to live in urban centres, necessitating large volumes of new construction. With the built environment contributing close to 39% …

Using Green Materials In Construction Today May Not Be Expensive After All

  • 17.05.2024
  • < min

Build Ahead has investigated the intricacies of the cement manufacturing process, computed potential premiums associated with decarbonising cement, and explored how this impacts end users. Our research shows that existing cement products on average can be made 30% less carbon intensive without impacting construction costs whereas a net-zero product would only lead to a 1-3% increase in construction costs. This …

A Framework For Cement And Steel Governmental Green Procurement

  • 30.04.2024
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India is the second largest cement and steel producer, with capacity to produce approx. 7% of global production for both.  To urgently kickstart the decarbonisation of these fundamental materials, the government of India should formally begin green public procurement. Strong signals from the public sector will provide the demand certainty that cement & steel producers need to invest in decarbonising …

Indian consumers are ready for green buildings

  • 14.02.2024
  • 1 min

Insights into consumer demand for green products, especially green building materials and green buildings, are extremely limited in India. This is particularly true for the burgeoning middle-class segment. Through our research, it’s clear that middle-income residents in Tier 1 cities are concerned about environmental quality and already have demand for green buildings and materials. The problem is they are hampered …

Strengthening Green Building Ratings In India

  • 14.06.2023
  • 1 min

Embodied carbon forms almost 30% of the carbon footprint of the built environment. Most of this embodied carbon comes from the manufacturing of commonly used building materials like cement, concrete and steel. The share of embodied carbon, in India and globally, is expected to increase to more than 50% by 2050 as the share of operational carbon, i.e., emissions resulting …

ET Now Hosts Build Ahead Leader Panel On Net Zero Construction

  • 06.09.2022
  • < min
Group Congregating on a Building Site

On 28 August, the leaders of Build Ahead’s six partners came together to discuss the need for a cross-sectoral approach and collaborative action to decarbonise the construction value chain. The recently launched Build Ahead coalition is a multi-stakeholder intiative dedicated to collectively tackling the challenge of achieving a net-zero built environment in India. In this wide-ranging discussion on ‘Decarbonising India’s Construction’, aired …