The Challenge

The world is building more than ever. With population and wealth continuing to rise, an estimated 300 million new homes will need to be constructed before 2030 (UNEP, 2023). But this comes at a cost - the built environment is responsible for 37% of all energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions (UNEP, 2023). Much of this comes from carbon-intensive materials such as steel and concrete. The construction sector also requires huge amounts of resources and accounts for about half of all extracted materials (EEA, 2026).

Until the mid-twentieth century, buildings were made from locally sourced, bio-based, low-carbon materials such as timber (UNEP, 2023). Homes and workplaces were specifically designed to suit the local climate, minimising the need for heating and cooling (UNEP, 2023). By the late twentieth century this had transformed, with concrete, steel, and aluminium becoming the dominant materials. The construction industry needs to rethink its approach to material use.

Heating, cooling, and electricity in buildings account for 33% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions across the EU (EEA, 2025). Progress is being made: between 2005 and 2023, emissions from buildings fell by 43% in the EU, driven by higher energy efficiency standards, electrification of heating, and decarbonisation of electricity supply (EEA, 2025). Yet more still needs to be done. The European Commission reports that three-quarters of EU buildings still have poor energy performance (European Commission, 2024). This affects the people living within them directly - cold and damp housing damages wellbeing and causes illnesses including asthma and bronchitis (Eurofound, 2016). The future of construction is as much about retrofitting what we already have as it is about how we build the next generation of homes and workplaces.

A Circular Solution

BE-ST (Built Environment - Smarter Transformation) is Scotland's national innovation centre for construction and the built environment. It helps organisations transform the industry through net-zero, circular economy, social value, and digital innovation - working across three interconnected areas:

• developing better materials and methods,

• improving the energy efficiency of buildings, and

• equipping people with the skills needed for a greener future.

In practice, this means supporting businesses and innovators rethinking how we build. One example is Kenoteq, an Edinburgh-based company producing bricks made from nearly 100% construction waste. Kenoteq’s K-BRIQ’s are compacted under very high pressure at room temperature, achieving 95% lower embodied carbon compared to conventional bricks and are certified for use in the UK and the US (Kenoteq, n.d.).

BE-ST is also home to the Mass Timber Centre of Excellence, the UK's most advanced mass timber production facility. Mass timber is engineered wood created by compressing and bonding layers of wood into structurally strong panels, beams, and columns. It uses bio-based renewable materials, is scalable, and offers high structural strength - allowing it to be used in place of concrete or steel with a significantly lower carbon footprint.

The Mass Timber Centre of Excellence manufactures both structural timber elements and modular buildings, enabling scalable off-site production and rapid deployment. This approach allows for the delivery of housing quickly using prebuilt modular homes, making a tangible difference in local communities. In partnership with the homeless charity Social Bite, BE-ST is helping to provide sustainable housing for people experiencing homelessness in South Lanarkshire, demonstrating how innovative construction methods can deliver meaningful social impact alongside environmental benefits.

BE-ST is also home to Scotland's National Retrofit Centre, which recently underwent a retrofit of its own. Recycled bricks from Kenoteq and mass timber panels with natural wood fibre insulation were used to transform the fabric of the existing building. A cascaded heat pump and solar panels were installed to support its energy needs. The building now produces more energy than it uses, making it energy positive and a valuable demonstrator for the wider industry. Beyond the building itself, the Retrofit Centre provides hands-on training for construction professionals and students, helping them adapt to new policies, market needs, and sustainability standards.

In 2024, BE-ST supported 35 projects in sustainable construction and helped bring 22 products to market. That same year, BE-ST upskilled 1,300 construction professionals, trained 300 young people in sustainable building practices, and funded 20 master's students to work on projects driving the transition to net zero. Over its ten years of operation, the centre has generated £1.8 billion in revenue (BE-ST, 2024).

BE-ST is advancing circular construction by shifting the industry towards responsible sourcing of materials and upgrading existing buildings - keeping embedded carbon locked in while reducing operational emissions.

Climate Impact

BE-ST is championing mass timber as a key material in the transition to lower-carbon construction. Studies suggest that wider adoption of mass timber products could reduce global CO₂ emissions by between 14% and 31%, while also reducing energy use in buildings by around 10% (UNEP, 2023). Trees lock in carbon as they grow, and one cubic metre of wood stores around 700 kg of CO₂ (Chen et al., 2020). This means mass timber structures do not merely avoid emissions - they actively store carbon in the built environment around us.

BE-ST's own research supports this. A lifecycle study of a demonstrator two-bedroom mass timber home, displayed at COP26, found its embodied carbon at construction was far below that of conventional buildings and close to an A++ energy rating. More than half of its total lifetime carbon footprint was offset by the carbon stored in the timber itself (BE-ST, 2024).

However, challenges remain. Globally, timber is being harvested faster than it is being replaced. Sustainable forestry management is essential to ensure that mass timber can deliver its climate benefits at scale and for future generations (UNEP, 2023).

Replicability

The circular construction movement is gaining momentum across Ireland, with a number of organisations developing comparable approaches:

• Construct Innovate is Ireland's National Research Centre for Construction Technology and Innovation, supporting the transition to sustainable construction through research, industry collaboration, and skills development. Its active programmes include mass timber research, low-carbon materials development, and the ENACT programme supporting commercial building retrofit - mirroring many of BE-ST's core activities on the island of Ireland.
  

• Glenfort Timber Engineering (Northern Ireland) specialises in the off-site manufacture of mass timber structures, bringing engineered wood construction to the island of Ireland.
  

• The Irish Timber Frame Manufacturers Association is the representative body for the timber frame industry on the island of Ireland, advocating for timber construction across policy, planning, and practice.
  

• iDomus Construction provides carbon-neutral mass timber structures to the Irish market, supporting the transition to lower-carbon building methods.
  

• The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) administers Ireland's National Residential Retrofit Plan, which aims to retrofit 500,000 homes and install 400,000 heat pumps by 2030. A record €640 million was allocated to the scheme in Budget 2026, with grants available to support households across the income spectrum including those at risk of energy poverty.
  

• Education and Training Boards (ETBs) are playing a vital role in building the workforce needed for Ireland's retrofit ambition, delivering green skills training to workers across the country.