1. Introduction

The transition to emission-free construction sites is a critical step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector. Although numerous studies address barriers to sustainable construction, the specific challenges of emission-free sites require further investigation. This report maps out the barriers to implementing emission-free construction sites. Key obstacles are categorised into four main areas: Policy and regulatory barriers, financial barriers, technical barriers, and systemic barriers. Each section examines specific challenges within these categories, including regulatory gaps, high initial costs, technology limitations, and resistance to change within the industry. By understanding these challenges, stakeholders can devise practical solutions to accelerate decarbonisation in construction.

The report also presents findings from a survey sent to a broad range of stakeholders. In this survey, participants rated the impact of various identified barriers and could suggest additional challenges they felt were significant. This combined approach provides a detailed view of the obstacles slowing progress towards achieving emission-free construction.

This report outlines the main barriers that stakeholders face when implementing emission-free construction sites. The barriers are interrelated and may fall into more than one of the categories listed below.

The main categories of barriers to emission-free construction include:

The intended audience of this report includes policymakers, regulators, financial institutions, industry professionals, developers, and other stakeholders who can address these overarching barriers to emission-free construction practices.

There is a clear and undeniable need for sustainable construction practices to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the construction sector. There are many opportunities to reduce emissions throughout the lifetime of a building. One key area is during the construction phase. Replacing fossil fuel-powered machinery and vehicles with electric or low-carbon alternatives, reducing transportation of building materials, reducing waste, and reducing energy use related to construction sites all offer significant potential for reducing emissions. However, these solutions are not being implemented at the rate needed for the rapid reduction in GHGs required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Several barriers exist relating to finance, technology, knowledge, skills, attitudes, market, and other systemic barriers. There are many studies examining the barriers to sustainable construction, which may also be barriers to emission-free construction. However, the specifics of emission-free construction sites are relatively new, and the precise factors that hinder these projects need to be examined in order to identify how to overcome them.

This report is built on content analysis (desk research), information gathered from conversations with professionals in the construction industry, and an online survey. Content analysis drew on reports, articles, and expert insights to identify barriers to emission-free construction. Meetings and events took place throughout the project, involving conversations with well over 30 different stakeholders that revealed the obstacles they faced when attempting to implement emission-free construction practices. Several barriers were identified based on the content analysis and dialogue with stakeholders. A short survey was then created for construction professionals to rank these barriers in order of impact on the implementation of emission-free construction sites. This report compiles the results from the above investigations to identify barriers that need to be addressed not only by the construction sector but also suppliers, financiers, utility companies, local and national authorities, and other key stakeholders.