We are pleased to announce that the next ROC&TOK webinar will take place on November 6, 2025 at 3 PM CEST/Paris Time and will be one hour long (30-minute presentation + 30-minute interaction). The registration for this webinar is free.
Speaker: Dr Luca Valentini, University of Padua, Italy
Host: Prof. Prannoy Suraneni, University of Miami, United States
Title: Raw materials sourcing and the built environment: the impact beyond CO2
The need for the adoption of measures aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change has led the academia and industries involved in the built environment to focus on strategies for the reduction of CO2 emissions. Despite the urgency of tackling GHG emissions, the sole reliance on Global Warming Potential metrics may lead to neglecting other significant sources of environmental, social and economic impact associated with the built environment. For example, the building and construction sector incorporates more than 40% of the 100 billion tonnes of raw materials extracted every year, strongly contributing to resource depletion, landforms modification and adverse impacts on local communities. This lecture will highlight the impact of raw materials sourcing and suggest actions aimed at: promoting circular strategies and regional policies for environmentally and socially responsible sourcing and processing; fostering industrial symbiosis and cross-sectoral material flows; prioritising multicriteria sustainability assessment.
