On 10 November 2025, the Decarbonising the Building Industry (DBI) initiative achieved a key milestone with the official launch of our comprehensive roadmap at the University of Melbourne. This event united industry leaders, academics, and policymakers to tackle the pressing need for change in the building sector, which now represents 42 per cent of global emissions – up from 39 per cent in 2020.
Setting the stage: Welcoming address by Professor Tuan Ngo and Professor Guillermo Narsilio
The morning started with Professor Tuan Ngo, DBI’s network convenor, emphasising collaborative urgency under the Australian Government’s International Clean Innovation Researcher Networks program. He framed the launch as pivotal for net-zero alignment. Professor Guillermo Narsilio, head of infrastructure engineering at the University of Melbourne, then highlighted academic roles in low-carbon projects and roadmap contributions, stressing interdisciplinary innovations for scalable transitions. This set a partnership-focused tone.
Policy frameworks for change: Alison Scotland on regulatory drivers
Alison Scotland from the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) discussed the importance of strong policy structures to enable broad sector shifts. In her detailed presentation, Ms Scotland explored how effective regulations and incentives can drive the adoption of low-carbon practices across residential and commercial buildings. She referenced ASBEC’s work in advocating for mandatory performance standards and embodied carbon disclosure, drawing parallels to the roadmap’s calls for 50 per cent emission reductions by 2030. Highlighting case studies from Australian projects, she illustrated the economic benefits of energy efficiency retrofits and renewable integration, such as reduced operational costs and job creation in green construction. Her talk also addressed challenges like policy alignment across jurisdictions, urging stakeholders to prioritise electrification and circular economy principles. By connecting these elementse to global trends, including the shift from operational to embodied carbon dominance, she provided a compelling argument for integrated policy frameworks that support the roadmap’s three-phase strategy. Her insights resonated with the audience, sparking discussions on how to implement these measures at scale to meet 1.5°C compatible pathways.
International perspectives: Pablo Gabutti on Latin American transitions
Pablo Gabutti, secretary for energy transition from Córdoba, Argentina, offered perspectives from Latin America’s energy shifts. During his engaging session, Mr Gabutti shared practical experiences from Córdoba’s initiatives in transitioning building practices toward lower emissions, including the integration of renewable energy sources and modular construction techniques. He drew comparisons between Latin American contexts and Australia’s challenges, such as rapid urbanisation and the need to reduce embodied carbon in infrastructure. Referencing regional strategies that have achieved significant reductions in operational emissions through electrification, he emphasised the value of international knowledge exchange, as embodied in the DBI network. His presentation included data on successful policy implementations, like incentives for green materials, and their impact on aligning with global net-zero timelines. Attendees found his global viewpoint particularly valuable, as it highlighted adaptable solutions for hard-to-abate sectors and the role of cross-border collaborations in compensating for delays in climate pathways. Overall, his talk enriched the event by demonstrating how localised actions can contribute to worldwide efforts in decarbonising the building industry.
Modular solutions in action: Jason Hughes on construction innovation
Jason Hughes of Spark Projects presented on innovations in modular construction. In his comprehensive overview, Mr Hughes delved into how modular approaches can dramatically lower embodied carbon while enhancing project efficiency and scalability. He showcased real-world examples from Spark Projects, including prefabricated systems that reduce on-site waste and construction time, aligning directly with the roadmap’s emphasis on material innovation and circular practices. Discussing metrics like a potential 40 per cent reduction in embodied emissions by 2030, he explained the integration of low-carbon materials such as engineered timber and recycled components. His presentation also covered challenges like supply chain transformations and the need for industry-wide adoption to achieve net-zero by 2040. By highlighting economic advantages, such as cost savings and faster delivery, he made a strong case for modular methods as a key lever in the building sector’s transition. The audience engaged actively, recognising these innovations as essential for addressing the projected increase in embodied carbon’s share to 85 per cent by 2050 in Australia.
Roadmap unveiled - Phase-by-phase strategy: Professor Tuan Ngo's detailed overview
The highlight of the morning was Professor Tuan Ngo’s overview of the DBI roadmap. He detailed a three-phase approach to building sector transformation. Phase 1 (2024-2030) focuses on operational transition, targeting net-zero operational emissions by 2030 through massive electrification, renewable energy deployment, and energy efficiency retrofits at unprecedented scale. Phase 2 (2030-2040) shifts to embodied carbon, aiming for 40 per cent reduction by 2030 and net-zero by 2040 via material innovation, circular construction practices, and supply chain changes for low-carbon materials. Phase 3 (2040-2050) achieves complete integration, delivering full lifecycle carbon neutrality, carbon-negative materials at scale, and buildings as energy and carbon storage systems. Professor Ngo supported this with roadmap data, including global GHG emission projections showing net-zero delays across warming scenarios (e.g., 1.5°C delayed to 2076, +26 years), and the sector’s rise to 42 per cent of emissions in 2022 (27 per cent operational, 15 per cent embodied). He stressed bridging gaps like the 26.9 Gt CO₂e reduction needed by 2030 (49.8 per cent from current policies), using technologies such as heat pumps (75 per cent deployment by 2050), insulation, smart systems, solar roofing, energy storage, and green building materials.
Professor Ngo also highlighted the operational versus embodied carbon shift, projecting a near 50/50 split by 2050, with embodied increasing 27 per cent in share while operational decreases 27 per cent. He outlined sectoral requirements, including 50 per cent building reductions by 2030 and 98 per cent by 2050, and embodied targets like 65 per cent cuts from new buildings by 2030 and zero by 2040. In Australia, he noted the sector’s 41.6 per cent emission rise since 2005 (95 Mt CO₂e in 2024, 21.3 per cent national), with 77 per cent Scope 2 and residential projections up 47 per cent by 2040 without action.
Continuing his presentation, Professor Ngo covered emission gaps and immediate actions: mandatory performance standards, embodied carbon disclosure, heat pump/insulation programs, global carbon pricing, and fossil fuel heating phase-out in developed countries by 2030. Medium-term (2030-2035): 52 per cent reductions, universal smart systems/storage, material programs, district energy, and embodied carbon pricing. Long-term (2035-2050): full fossil phase-out, 84 per cent reductions, carbon-negative materials, building-integrated removal for net-negative emissions. He advocated $80-160 billion investment (2025-2050) across five programs for ~60 per cent reductions by 2050, yielding 5-15 year paybacks, cost savings, and jobs. In the Australian context, he discussed poor performance (41.6 per cent increase since 2005), need for $80-160 billion in electrification/retrofits, and barriers like equity, workforce, and regional issues. His call to action emphasised partnerships, innovation, and the four pillars: clean energy, industrial transformation, carbon sinks, built environment. This inspired attendees to adopt the roadmap’s strategies for 1.5°C alignment.
Find out more about the Roadmap
Following the roadmap overview, a lively discussion ensued among attendees, speakers, and panellists. Participants explored implementation barriers, such as policy gaps, funding needs, and workforce training, while sharing success stories from modular projects and low-carbon material pilots. Questions focused on accelerating the 50 per cent reduction by 2030, international collaboration opportunities, and integrating the roadmap’s phases into national strategies. The dialogue emphasised the urgency of immediate actions like electrification and carbon pricing, fostering commitments to partnerships and further workshops.
The roadmap, backed by the Australian Government’s International Clean Innovation Researcher Networks program, incorporates input from partners like Spark Projects, M-Modular, the Queensland Government’s Department of Primary Industries, the Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology, ASBEC, Aurecon, SmartCrete CRC, and MECLA. It calls for prompt actions including performance standards, electrification, and material innovation to close emission gaps and support 1.5°C alignment.
We thank all speakers, attendees, and collaborators for their contributions to this successful launch. The full roadmap summary is available for download on our website, and we welcome feedback at dbi-network@unimelb.edu.au to enhance future versions.
This launch reinforces DBI’s commitment to joint solutions in the building sector. Watch for updates on our ongoing work.
