Towards Net-Zero: Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Operational and Embodied Carbon Reduction

Dear Colleagues,

Net-zero is the key sustainability goal for the built environment. To truly qualify as a net-zero building, both the operational and embodied carbon footprints must be offset. Over the last few decades of research, the design and development of activities for reducing building energy use in the operational stage has led to significant reductions in operational energy use. Therefore, with reduced operational energy use, embodied carbon contribution can be significant for the whole-life carbon footprint. This has led to increased efforts from industry stakeholders to minimize both the operational and embodied carbon footprints.

This Special Issue aims to advance academic and industry knowledge by addressing integrated strategies, tools, policies, and innovations to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings and infrastructure throughout their lifecycles.

We invite original research, critical reviews, case studies, and methodological advancements on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

Operational carbon reduction:

• Energy-efficient building systems and retrofitting strategies;
• Renewable energy integration in buildings and districts;
• Passive design, smart controls, and building automation;
• Lifecycle energy modelling and simulation tools;
• Performance gaps between design and operation.

Embodied carbon mitigation:

• Low-carbon construction materials (e.g., bio-based, recycled, low-impact concrete, and steel alternatives);
• Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies and tools;
• Circular economy and reuse strategies in construction;
• Material supply chain decarbonization;
• Carbon accounting frameworks and benchmarks.

Papers focusing on the co-optimization of operational and embodied carbon for various design choices are also welcome.

This Special Issue seeks to bridge research and practice by fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue between architecture, engineering, environmental science, and policy. Contributions that highlight scalable solutions, interdisciplinary insights, and practical implications are especially encouraged.

Dr. Sivanand Somasundaram
Dr. Paolo Blecich
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.