What the Climate Change Committee's Advice for the Seventh Carbon Budget Means for the Built Environment

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has published its advice for the UK's Seventh Carbon Budget (2038–2042), recommending the most ambitious emissions reduction target yet: a cap of 535 MtCO₂e. While this target is not yet law, it provides a clear direction of travel. Hitting this goal will require transformative action across all sectors, particularly the built environment, one of the most carbon-intensive parts of the economy.

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What are Carbon Budgets?

Carbon budgets are legally binding caps on the total amount of greenhouse gases the UK can emit over five-year periods. They are typically set 12 years in advance based on the advice of the CCC and provide a long-term policy framework for the government’s path to net zero.

Since 2008, these budgets have helped the UK halve its emissions compared to 1990 levels, driven mainly by progress in the energy sector. Reductions in industry, waste, surface transport, and buildings have also played a significant role.

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What is the Climate Change Committee’s advice for the built environment?

According to the balanced pathway outlined in the CCC's recommendations, emissions from residential buildings must fall by 66% from 2023 levels by 2040. This includes emissions from both construction and ongoing operation.

To achieve this, the CCC's report calls for:

• Increased resource efficiency.
• Rapid deployment of low-carbon technologies.
• Enhanced energy efficiency.
• Reduced demand for materials and energy.

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Existing industry efforts are already accelerating emissions reductions

Across the UK, public and private sector leaders are stepping up, even in the absence of new formal regulations. Several key players have embedded carbon reduction directly into their procurement processes, including:

• National Highways, which has set a clear precedent by requiring all Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers to implement carbon management systems aligned with PAS 2080, the global standard for managing infrastructure-related emissions.
• Transport for London, which requires bidders for contracts over £5 million to provide organisational carbon reduction plans and demonstrate how their solution contributes to London’s ambition of being net-zero carbon by 2030.
• Under the UK Government’s Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 06/21, suppliers bidding for central government contracts over £5 million per year must commit to achieving net zero by 2050 and submit a carbon reduction plan outlining how they will reach this goal.

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New policy is fast approaching…

Government action on embodied carbon is confirmed and fast approaching.

From 2027, the UK will introduce a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) that will apply new carbon pricing rules to imported construction products such as cement, iron, steel, and aluminium.

This move is designed to ensure that overseas manufacturers are held to the same decarbonisation standards as UK producers, preventing carbon leakage—where production is offshored to countries with weaker climate policies.

For the construction sector, this will mean that design and procurement teams must evaluate the carbon intensity of materials at the point of sourcing. It also means supply chains will need to adapt by shifting to low-carbon and circular materials.

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How can LCM help drive construction emissions down?

With both government and industry tightening the focus on carbon, the pressure is on for construction firms to act, not just plan.

At Low Carbon Materials, we support the sector with practical, drop-in solutions designed for real-world use. ACLA®, is our carbon-negative asphalt aggregate that helps contractors and councils decarbonise roads without disrupting standard laying processes. It works within existing asphalt supply chains and infrastructure, making it easy to adopt at scale—no process changes or new equipment required.

By replacing a small portion of traditional aggregates with ACLA®, contractors can achieve net-zero or even carbon-negative roads, helping them meet procurement requirements and climate targets with confidence.

In a sector that has historically been difficult to decarbonise, solutions like ACLA® are already proving what’s possible. If you’re looking to future-proof your projects and take meaningful action on carbon, we’re ready to help.

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