The report by Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE) makes a clear call to incorporate carbon measurement throughout the entire life cycle of buildings – from material production to demolition – in order to achieve climate neutrality across the European Union’s building stock.

The document explains that regulations have traditionally focused on operational emissions (heating, cooling, and electricity during use). However, as energy efficiency improves and the electricity grid becomes cleaner, the share of embodied emissions (materials, transport, construction, end-of-life) is expected to rise. Therefore, both types of emissions must be managed jointly to avoid shifting impacts from one phase to another.

BPIE proposes a harmonised European framework to calculate what it refers to as whole-life carbon (WLC): a common methodology, open databases, reference values, and a roadmap for each Member State to adapt the approach to its own context.

Key points include the need to:

• Clearly define which life cycle stages are included and how they are measured.
• Use reliable data and, in its absence, apply default values that penalise lack of specificity.
• Establish ambitious and progressively stricter benchmarks to guide the sector towards near-zero carbon homes and buildings.
• Promote international cooperation and alignment between countries to avoid fragmented regulation that could increase costs and slow down progress.

The report sets out a reference vision for buildings in Europe to be not only efficient in use, but also to generate the minimum possible emissions when built and at the end of their life. The challenge lies in translating this approach into regulation, data, policy, and sector practice.