The building materials sector is highly energy-intensive, responsible for over one-third (37 percent) of global energy-related emissions. According to a 2023 report from the UN Environment Programme, the buildings and construction industry is the world’s largest emitter of CO2.
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CO2 emissions from the cement and concrete industry account for around eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, other building materials like glass, steel, and bricks are also emissions-intensive. Manufacturers in high-emission industries turn to environmental assessment tools like Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) to track their carbon and chemical footprints.
That’s where Pathways steps in. Pathways is an EPDs management platform that automates environmental reporting and streamlines the data collection process for material manufacturers. The AI-powered platform seamlessly integrates unstructured operational data while automating updates and enabling real-time reporting of plant, product, and project emissions to help companies meet their sustainability goals.
The result? Time-intensive tasks like purchasing documentation, billing, operational records, utility and consumption data, and workplace safety and compliance files are seamlessly integrated and updated. With Pathways’ platform, manufacturers can generate EPDs in-house, eliminating the need for third-party or life cycle assessment (LCA) specialists. A process that once required months of expert input and was prone to human errors can now be completed in just a few days.
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“When sustainability professionals are burdened with seemingly endless data collection, they can’t focus on what matters most: implementing actual improvements to environmental performance. This creates a painful irony: the frameworks we’ve created to help reduce emissions – LCAs and EPDs – are sometimes roadblocks themselves, consuming the very resources needed to implement meaningful change,” says Leise Sandeman, co-founder and co-CEO of Pathways, in a guest post.
“The solution isn’t to abandon environmental reporting – it’s to revolutionize how we collect and process this crucial data.”
The construction industry is facing unprecedented demand. According to a Global Status Report from the UN, global building floor area is projected to double by 2060, adding over 230 billion square meters of new built space. That’s equivalent to adding the entire floor area of Japan every year until 1960.
This construction boom will be particularly felt in emerging countries, so it will be crucial to equip material manufacturing firms with the capacity to monitor their emissions responsibly without burdening their business.
Companies like Pathways are reshaping the role of data in sustainable manufacturing, empowering businesses to meet their environmental goals.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
