WBCSD's new report, Bridging Design and Construction for Carbon Alignment, looks at why embodied carbon savings often get lost when a building project moves from design into construction. Buildings account for roughly 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the report focuses on the handover where carbon information, assumptions, and reduction potential can break apart. The report lists eight best practices for keeping design intent intact, with each one mapped to the owner, design team, or preconstruction team responsible for acting on it. It also covers how BIM and 2D documentation need to work together so low-carbon decisions carry through to procurement. The guidance comes from a collaboration of ten design and construction firms, led by WBCSD with technical support from Autodesk. For architects, developers, contractors, and sustainability consultants, the report frames carbon as a managed project commitment tied to scope, cost, schedule, procurement, and governance, not a standalone sustainability deliverable. That shift matters because carbon reductions only count if they survive the build.
