The untapped lever for cutting NZ’s emissions
Thursday, 22 January 2026
New Zealand could rack up some fast wins in carbon emission reduction by designing emissions out of buildings from day one of the process, the New Zealand Institute of Architects says.
There has been a lot of pessimism around the country’s path towards reaching emission targets following the Government’s huge shift in climate change policy in November.
But New Zealand Institute of Architects spokesperson Sarosh Mulla told The Post buildings remain one of the country's largest untapped levers for cutting emissions.
Globally, one third of all emissions were from the built environment, he said.
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“The energy used to power, heat and cool our buildings, along with the materials they are built from and the waste they generate, represents a significant share of our emissions.
“Smarter design, innovative materials and adaptive reuse are critical to cutting embodied and operational carbon in our buildings, and meeting our carbon goals.”
That’s not a new concept.
Among big real estate companies and developers, such as Precinct Properties and Ockham Residential, it’s acknowledged the built environment is a significant contributor to emissions, and many are working to reduce their emissions.
And a 2024 Green Building Council report estimated that improving building standards, and making buildings more energy efficient would reduce emissions equivalent to taking half the country’s petrol cars off the road.
But Mulla, a practising architect, said ensuring emissions were designed out from the beginning of the build process would lead to significant reductions - quickly.
One way to do that was to think carefully about the materials to be used, and the best way to use them, and also how to make use of materials from existing building stock, he said.
“Timber is a good material to use, for example. It captures carbon out of the atmosphere, locks it in, and using it reduces the need for higher emission materials, like steel, and it's renewable.
“There’s some great innovations, such as Abodo Timbers, in this space. But there’s also opportunities to explore other materials, like concrete, which were previously seen as big carbon emitters.”
Construction waste is estimated to make up 40% to 50% of the waste that goes into the country’s landfills, so minimisation of waste in the design process was also key, he said.
“There’s a huge number of research and projects around this. One is looking at the amount of plastic packaging material that comes on to building sites, and how do you deal with that, recycle that and minimize it, for example.
Mulla said the “adaptive reuse”, or repurposing of existing buildings came into it too, and was an important part of what architects worked on around the country.
That was partly because of the great resource of existing buildings, with carbon that had already been used.
“Also, there’s all this great heritage that we have in so many buildings, and the reality is that knocking things down and building fresh isn't always the answer,” he said.
“Effective use of technology - to quantify carbon during a build - and prefabrication options can also help with sustainable building.
“But, ultimately, it comes down to trying to design with an eye for right sizing buildings, thinking about standard modules and how you put the best value into a building, and picking those materials from the start.”
Designing more sustainably would also lead to greater building resilience which delivered cost savings for the country and for property owners over the life of a building, he said.
“People often think that sustainable buildings cost more, but that’s not the case. Over the long-term sustainable buildings are more cost-effective, and there’s greater awareness of that these days.
“We need to do more on this front as we should be moving at a greater speed in the construction space, but there is progress.”
Mulla added that many clients, from both the public and private sectors, were sophisticated in knowing what they needed, and in having specific targets around what they wanted their buildings to do.
“Part of the architect’s role is to provide guidance on this, and to help clients understand how it impacts the whole project - so their building performs better, costs less to run, is more beautiful, and in the macro sense is a good thing for the world, rather than the opposite.”