With improvements in building energy efficiency and the scaled deployment of clean energy, operational carbon emissions from buildings will decline, while the share of embodied carbon in global building CO₂ emissions is projected to rise from 18% (2019) to 35% (2050). Locked in at project completion, embodied carbon poses a critical challenge to sector decarbonization.

Cement-based materials are a major source of building embodied carbon. Against the global shift toward net-zero emissions, advancing low-carbon innovation in key materials like cement and concrete has become critical to reducing the life-cycle carbon footprint of buildings.

Innovative materials and technologies — such as low-carbon cement, carbon-sequestering concrete, and bio-based concrete — are emerging in cement-based building materials. We aim to leverage Dachan Bay, a real-world environment, to demonstrate their potential and practical value.