A multi-level perspective: The decarbonisation of the built environment

This article explores the decarbonisation of the built environment through the Multiple Level Perspective (MLP) framework. By examining niche innovations, socio-technical regimes, and socio-technical landscapes, it provides a holistic approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in buildings and infrastructure. The study highlights the importance of integrating technological advancements, regulatory frameworks, and economic incentives to achieve a sustainable, low-carbon future.

1. Introduction

The urgency of addressing climate change has never been more pressing, and the built environment plays a crucial role in this global effort. Buildings and infrastructure are significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions, making decarbonisation in this sector essential. Despite technological advances and heightened awareness, progress toward reducing emissions remains too slow to meet global climate targets. This inertia highlights the need for a deeper, more nuanced approach to transformation.

The built environment is a complex socio-technical system, influenced by intertwined layers of social values, regulatory frameworks, technological advances, and economic incentives. Simply targeting isolated components of this system is insufficient for achieving sustainable, long-term decarbonisation. The Multiple Level Perspective (MLP) framework offers a valuable approach, providing insight into how change occurs across three levels: niche innovations, socio-technical regimes, and socio-technical landscapes. This article explores how MLP can help reimagine decarbonisation strategies for the built environment, creating a cohesive pathway toward a low-carbon future.

2. Understanding the built environment’s carbon footprint

The built environment’s carbon footprint comprises two main elements: embodied carbon—from building materials and construction—and operational carbon, generated by energy use over a building’s lifespan. Embodied carbon alone is responsible for about 11% of global emissions.

The 2023 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction highlights the sector's significant impact on global greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for about 21% of the total. In 2022, buildings were responsible for 34% of global energy demand and 37% of energy and process-related emissions, with operational energy-related emissions reaching their highest levels since 2018. The energy intensity of buildings has only decreased by 5% since 2015 and is currently 15% higher than needed. The renewable energy share is only half of what is required. Despite efforts, the sector remains off track to achieve decarbonisation by 2050, with the Global Buildings Climate Tracker indicating stagnation since 2015. To meet the 2030 milestone, an annual increase of ten decarbonisation points is now required, up from the six points anticipated per year starting in 2015.

The sector has been progressing at two distinct speeds. On one hand, global energy demand continues to grow, driven by increasing access in developing nations and rising demand for energy-intensive appliances and air conditioning. On the other hand, improvements in energy efficiency and emissions reduction have lagged significantly, with two-thirds of countries still lacking mandatory building energy standards. This discrepancy is concerning, as most new construction is expected to occur in regions with low or non-existent energy standards3.

3. The built environment as a socio-technical system

The built environment is more than just bricks and mortar; it is a complex socio-technical system shaped by social and technical elements, including human needs, cultural values, technology, regulatory frameworks, and economic dynamics. Buildings, infrastructure, and energy systems are built to fulfil social functions, while technological advancements and regulations govern how these systems are developed, operated, and maintained.

This interdependence results in feedback loops, where societal priorities, such as sustainability, can drive technological innovation. These technologies in turn shape policies, influence economic incentives, and alter cultural expectations. However, established socio-technical systems tend to change incrementally rather than radically. While beneficial in some sectors, this incremental approach falls short of the rapid and sweeping transformation needed to decarbonise the built environment.

4. Understanding the multi-level perspective

The Multiple Level Perspective (MLP) provides a framework for understanding how transitions in socio-technical systems take place through dynamic processes within and between three analytical levels:

• Niche Innovations: Spaces where radical innovations can develop without market pressures, fostering disruptive technologies and practices.

• Socio-Technical Regimes: The current practices, rules, and technologies that define the existing state of the built environment. These regimes typically lead to incremental changes due to path dependency.

• Socio-Technical Landscape: The broader context encompassing macro-level trends such as climate policies, economic conditions, and cultural shifts that influence both niche innovations and socio-technical regimes.

While contemporary decarbonisation efforts tend to emphasise individual elements, such as energy efficiency, renewable energy integration, or material substitution, these efforts often operate in isolation. MLP offers a more holistic view, providing insights to drive a cohesive, multi-level transformation of the built environment.

Image source: Seerp Wigboldus (2013)

Leveraging niche innovation

To accelerate decarbonisation in the built environment, prioritising niche innovations in materials, construction, and energy management is essential. Bio-based materials like hempcrete, bamboo, and cross-laminated timber offer renewable, carbon-sequestering alternatives to high-emission materials like steel and concrete. Advances in cement technologies, including carbon-sequestering and geopolymer options, also reduce emissions. On the operational side, energy-efficient designs, renewable energy integration, and smart building management systems (BMS) optimise energy use, while district heating and cooling networks provide large-scale, efficient solutions. Net-zero and passive building designs leverage natural ventilation and thermal regulation to reduce energy demands, and green roofs contribute to insulation and urban cooling.

These technologies have transformative potential, but many still face barriers due to regulatory challenges, market constraints, and supply chain issues. Creating protected spaces for niche innovations allows novel technologies to develop outside the pressures of the dominant regime, improving in quality, cost-effectiveness, and scalability.

With funding support, pilot projects, and favourable policies, these innovations can demonstrate their performance, improve cost-effectiveness, and achieve scalability. As they mature and garner industry confidence, they can compete more effectively and potentially transform the dominant regime.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) is a prime example of how niche innovations can disrupt established practices. Over the past two decades, solar PV has achieved significant technological maturity and market competitiveness. During this period, the cost of generating one megawatt-hour (1MWh) of solar PV electricity has dropped by over 90%, from around $400-$500 to becoming one of the most affordable sources of new electricity globally. The International Energy Agency projects that by 2033, solar energy will become the largest source of electricity worldwide.

Transforming socio-technical regimes

The current socio-technical regimes in the built environment are characterised by the slow adoption of energy-efficient practices and insufficient alignment with net-zero goals. As niche innovations mature and landscape pressures increase, the regime (e.g., industry practices, codes, standards) becomes more susceptible to change. Incremental improvements, such as stricter energy codes, make the regime more adaptive to sustainability goals, while disruptive innovations, such as carbon-capture materials or modular construction, create opportunities for significant shifts in practices. Over time, regime actors, including construction firms, architects, and regulatory bodies, may adopt and standardise these new practices, integrating them into the mainstream.

Regime-level interventions might include:

• Whole Life Carbon (WLC) Assessment: Early-stage carbon assessment and reductions should become standard practice within the industry. This involves considering WLC at the outset of all new or refurbishment projects, including all building elements and systems, to inform strategic design decisions and procurement strategies. Design, planning, and investment decisions, including value engineering, should be made based on carbon as a cost factor.

• Building Codes and Energy Standards: With two-thirds of countries lacking mandatory building energy standards, a concerted effort to establish and enforce such standards can drive energy efficiency on a massive scale. Adopting net-zero building codes can help normalise low-carbon practices in construction and property management.

• Supply Chain Reform: Transforming the supply chain to address global shortages of low-carbon and recycled/reclaimed substitutes for steel and concrete, as well as bio-materials and waste products, and encouraging local production can drastically reduce transportation emissions associated with construction.

• Green Skills and Training: Developing new skills and comprehensive training programs is essential. Equipping professionals with the necessary knowledge and expertise ensures that the workforce remains adept across the entire decarbonisation spectrum, from retrofits and heat pump installation to renewable energy and low-carbon design. Addressing the skills gap is crucial, as it can significantly limit progress. Success requires measuring progress not just in terms of emissions reductions, but also in the development of supporting systems and capabilities.

Shaping the landscape

The broader landscape influences the pace and direction of decarbonisation efforts. Achieving decarbonisation in the built environment will involve both policy and cultural shifts. The sector is traditionally slow to change due to high investment costs, long asset lifespans, and entrenched regulations. Therefore, the landscape must create pressure on the incumbent regime through policy pressures (e.g., climate regulations), economic shifts (e.g., rising fossil fuel costs, green finance), and societal demand for sustainability. These forces push the regime to adapt or face increased costs and declining legitimacy, opening “windows of opportunity” for niche innovations to scale and challenge the existing regime.

Key ways to shape the landscape include:

• Regulatory and Policy Shifts: Climate policies, such as carbon taxes and net-zero mandates, create external pressure on the construction sector to adopt lower-carbon practices. These measures challenge carbon-intensive practices and force innovation to avoid non-compliance and penalties. For example, new emissions targets will compel developers to reduce embodied carbon in materials and invest in energy-efficient designs.

• Public Demand for Sustainability: Growing societal awareness of climate change is increasing demand for greener buildings and urban spaces. As consumers prioritise sustainability, developers and construction companies must shift to sustainable design and construction methods. This drives the market for green buildings and disadvantages traditional high-carbon practices.

• Financial Market Shifts: The rise of green finance, low-carbon grants, and ESG criteria in investment decisions create financial incentives for low-carbon infrastructure. The construction sector faces pressure as investors direct funds toward sustainable projects. Developers aligning with these expectations gain a financial edge, while those that do not may struggle to attract capital.

Conclusion

The success of decarbonising the built environment hinges on aligning actions across three levels. Landscape pressures, such as climate regulations, must be robust enough to reform existing regime practices. Simultaneously, niche innovations require protection and nurturing to evolve into viable alternatives. Policy plays a crucial role in this alignment, whether through building standards that challenge current practices or through innovation funding that supports niche development. The key is understanding how these levels interact and reinforce each other.

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