Bioconstruction
Turning Buildings into Long-Term Carbon Sinks
The Construction Market and Its Carbon Impact
The construction sector is one of the largest contributors to global emissions. Yet it also represents one of the most powerful opportunities for climate mitigation.
Key figures illustrate the scale of the challenge:
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~37% of global CO₂ emissions are linked to buildings and construction.
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Cement production alone accounts for around 8% of global CO₂ emissions.
Beyond emissions, the construction sector also places major pressure on natural systems:
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10% of global water withdrawals and 25% of water consumption come from construction activities.
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Massive demand for aggregates such as sand is creating resource scarcity and ecosystem degradation.
Decarbonising construction is therefore essential to achieving global climate goals.
Biobased construction materials (from hempcrete to timber composites and agricultural fibres) capture carbon during plant growth and store it inside buildings for decades.
When combined with emerging yet robust carbon credit methodologies, these materials can transform buildings into long-term carbon storage assets that can be measured, monitored, and certified.
Carbon markets can hence unlock a new paradigm: buildings that remove carbon instead of emitting it.
A Driver for Decarbonisation:
Bio-Construction
Bio-based materials have a carbon footprint that is fundamentally different from that of conventional materials.
Plants absorb atmospheric CO₂ through photosynthesis. When they are transformed into building materials, this carbon is physically stored within the built environment for decades, or even centuries.
This yields two major climate benefits:
Carbon sequestration
Bio-based materials capture atmospheric CO₂ as they grow and store it within the structure of buildings.
Certain materials, such as hemp-based composites or timber used in construction, can store carbon for over 100 years, thereby creating genuine, sustainable carbon sinks.
Avoided emissions
They can replace high-emission materials such as concrete, steel or brick.
If deployed on a large scale, bio-construction could profoundly transform the sector, shifting it from being a major emitter to a long-term carbon storage system.
For property developers and infrastructure investors, carbon credits thus provide an additional financial incentive to support the adoption of low-carbon materials.
Value Chains & Carbon Potential
Bio-construction is based on a natural carbon capture cycle: plants absorb CO₂, biomass is converted into materials, and these are then incorporated into buildings where the carbon is stored for several decades.
Bio-construction is based on a natural carbon capture cycle: plants absorb CO₂, biomass is converted into materials, and then incorporated into buildings where the carbon is stored for several decades.
This storage can be measured using carbon methodologies, which take into account the carbon content of materials, the volumes used, the lifespan of buildings and end-of-life scenarios.
Compared to other solutions, bio-construction combines potentially lower capture costs, high permanence and excellent scalability, particularly through crops such as hemp or bamboo, whilst generating environmental co-benefits.
Coupled with robust standards, it enables sustainable and verifiable carbon storage, making carbon credits a key lever for accelerating the adoption of positive-impact materials in the construction sector.
Key Challenges in Bio-Construction
Bio-based materials are attracting growing interest at a time when companies and developers are seeking to reduce the embodied carbon of buildings and meet new climate reporting requirements. However, despite their potential, several structural barriers remain.
An economic equation that remains fragile
The construction sector remains heavily driven by cost and volume considerations. Bio-based materials are often less competitive due to limited supply chains, still-limited industrial capacity and certification frameworks that are still taking shape.
A market slow to evolve
Value chains are deeply rooted in technical standards and established practices. The integration of new materials requires regulatory approvals, specific certifications and a gradual evolution of design standards and supply chains.
Financing & Regulation
The higher cost of bio-based materials often necessitates financial support and increasingly stringent regulations.
The key role of carbon in the equation
In this context, carbon credits play a decisive role. By valuing carbon storage in materials, they help improve the economics of projects, support the emergence of new supply chains and accelerate the transition to industrial scale.
Augur’s Services in Bio-Construction
Augur supports project developers, investors and industrial partners throughout the entire lifecycle of carbon projects related to bio-construction
Project feasibility
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Resource and technology analysis
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Input assessment
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Economic modelling
Carbon certification
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Standard benchmarking
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Methodology selection
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LCA & DEP
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MRV design
Market launch
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Carbon credit issuance
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Market positioning
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Buyer engagement
Project financing
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Investor readiness
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Risk mitigation
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Partnership structuring
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Fundraising support
Our Partners
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Insights & Ressources
Over the past years, Augur has supported some of the first bio-construction carbon credit projects on the voluntary market.
This experience in hempcrete has enabled us to develop a thorough understanding of market dynamics, pricing mechanisms and buyers’ expectations regarding high-integrity credits.
Carbon credits from bio-construction have seen rapid growth, driven by their competitiveness, environmental performance and integrity.
With the development of the European Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) and the tightening of regulatory constraints on carbon-intensive sectors (cement, steel), demand for sustainable carbon storage solutions in the building sector is expected to grow significantly.
Why Augur?
Augur combines in-depth expertise in carbon markets, life-cycle analysis and bio-based value chains to develop high-integrity carbon projects.
We support projects from start to finish, from the feasibility stages through to the issuance and trading of carbon credits, ensuring both environmental rigour and economic performance.
Developing a bio-construction project?
Augur supports developers, manufacturers and investors in structuring robust carbon projects across the entire building value chain.
