Most research on the environmental impact of buildings focuses on new construction, but growing interest in the circular economy has shown that renovating existing buildings can also be a valuable way to provide additional housing while maximizing the use of existing structures. Using publicly available building permit data, this study quantified the embodied GHG footprint of over 65,000 residential construction projects completed between 2018 and 2023 across six North American cities. Through a hybrid approach that combines regional GHG emission factors and reported construction costs, we estimated embodied emissions for newly built residential units and dwellings added through renovations of existing buildings.
This work provides a practical methodology to estimate emissions from construction using publicly available permit data already collected by many municipalities. Further, this study offers a scalable, data-driven method that can help guide policies on sustainable housing and resource-efficient development.
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