CivMin researchers shine a bright light on our future as a record crowd assembled to address the concerns of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at an annual symposium.
The third annual Embodied GHG Symposium at the University of Toronto saw its largest attendance to date at its 2026 iteration. With over 220 attendees, the Thursday, April 30 event in Desautels Hall was packed with a balanced contingent of academics, policymakers and industry professionals.
The conference, promoted by School of Cities and led by CivMin Professor Shoshanna Saxe, saw researchers from Civmin’s Centre for the Sustainable Built Environment (CSBE) present. Keynote speaker Hans van der Weidje, Director of Research and Development at Tata Steel in the Netherlands, provided the introductory remarks. Addressing the steel industry overall and the various possibilities available to make a greener product, he illustrated the ways a product could produce fewer GHG emissions through production methods as well as new technologies.
Registrants of students and professors from 10 educational institutions, employees from several municipal governments and a multitude of industrial representatives, gathered to discuss the future of materials while balancing the issues of using less and building more.
Professor Evan Bentz posed many questions to the audience around the theme of building sustainably, giving them time to complete answers and write on sticker notes for discussion later. For instance, do we need to build smaller residential units, or perhaps does the solution lie with better building materials? Giving a nudge to the groups, he asked if we should we focus on materials, public policy or ignore sustainability of materials entirely? Though his suggested answer of “hopium” as a solution was said in jest, it reflects how optimism and inaction could result in complacency and worsening of an issue. Spoiler alert: we should not ignore the problem and should probably try all options in the quest to solve GHG emission issues.
What if building materials cannot be accounted for the same across the board? Shayan Aboodi, a PhD student under the supervision of CivMin Professor Daman Panesar, presented his research on the environmental impacts of different structural material selections used in mid-rise residential construction practices in Canada. As it turns out, environmental impacts can vary significantly depending on the impact category under assessment and the material emission datasets used in the analysis. What seems to be a lower-impact solution for one impact category may not necessarily remain the preferable option for another.
What if building materials cannot be accounted for the same across the board? Shayan Aboodi, a PhD student under the supervision of CivMin Professor Daman Panesar, presented his research on the environmental impacts of different structural material selections used in mid-rise residential construction practices in Canada. As it turns out, environmental impacts can vary significantly depending on the impact category under assessment and the material emission datasets used in the analysis. What seems to be a lower-impact solution for one impact category may not necessarily remain the preferable option for another.
Professor Aryan Rezaei Rad introduced the confluence of the assembled academics, architects, engineers, contractors and others to something new from something very old. The use of manufactured timber assembly joints to erect massive structures, though used for over a thousand years in Asia, is new to North America. As a strength-to-weight ratio, timber is stronger than other materials, including concrete and steel. Prof. Rad brought along a test specimen, as well as PhD student Amir Heidari, for the poster session, to showcase the incredible strength of this joinery.
The event hosted a poster session. presenting research and case studies along the theme of reducing resource use and embodied GHG in the construction sector.
The full video recording can be found here.
For those who care about the challenge of building more with less check out the ongoing research of the Centre for the Sustainable Built Environment at https://csbe.civmin.utoronto.ca/research/
