Transforming how cities build and maintain for a sustainable future
The way we build and maintain our cities shapes everything: the air we breathe, the jobs we create, our climate emissions, our resilience to climate risks, and community health. The Clean Construction Programme, part of C40’s Energy and Buildings work, supports cities in driving the transition to a resource-efficient, resilient, and decarbonised built environment.
The programme helps cities tackle the full lifecycle impacts of construction, especially from materials and equipment. Participating cities are demonstrating what sustainable construction looks like in practice. By generating evidence, sharing what works, and using their purchasing and regulatory powers, they’re catalysing a wider market shift.
How the programme supports cities
The Clean Construction Programme connects cities at different stages of this transition to share what’s working, tackle common challenges, and accelerate implementation together. Oslo is the lead city in this work.
Best practices and solutions
Cities share policies and strategies on the range of measures they can adopt, including adaptive reuse, circular economy approaches, low-carbon materials, zero-emission machinery, and nature-based solutions. The programme helps cities apply the Clean Construction Hierarchy to prioritise the most impactful actions.
Whole value chain engagement
Cities learn how to engage the private sector, workers, unions, communities, and civil society in driving inclusive and equitable clean construction. This means preparing markets for the transition, ensuring that workers’ rights and perspectives are central, and guaranteeing that communities benefit from cleaner, healthier buildings, infrastructure, and public spaces.
Tools and data
Cities share experiences with standards and tools for assessing environmental impacts, establishing city-wide targets, and addressing challenges around data access, transparency, and monitoring.
Market development
When cities commit to clean construction through their procurement, policies, and pilot projects, they send a clear signal to the market. Together, this collective demand is driving down costs for low-carbon materials and zero-emission equipment, making sustainable building more accessible for all.
Articulating benefits
The programme helps cities make the case for clean construction by documenting benefits, including improved air quality, reduced pollution, job creation, climate resilience, and better health and wellbeing for residents.
Cities leading the way
New York City
Cutting embodied carbon by 50% through ambitious policy targets and low-carbon material requirements.
Through PlaNYC 2023, the city set targets to reduce construction’s carbon footprint by 2033. The city incentivises retrofitting and adaptive reuse, requires low-carbon concrete and steel in city projects, and pioneers innovative approaches with timber and cooling techniques.
Bogotá
Building an inclusive construction sector whilst advancing sustainable urban development.
Through initiatives such as the Public Policy on Eco-urbanism and Sustainable Construction, the city demonstrates how sustainable building practices can advance social justice whilst reducing environmental impacts. The Mujeres que Construyen (Women Who Build) initiative upskills women in the construction industry.
Oslo
Transforming the construction market through procurement power and common criteria.
Oslo City Council accounts for 20% of the local market’s contract value. In 2019, there were no large electric construction machines in Oslo. Now, thanks to measures in the city’s climate budget, more than 30 different construction sites use heavy zero-emission machinery.
Explore resources for clean construction
Explore practical guidance and proven approaches from cities already implementing clean construction:
- C40 Clean Construction Best Practices: Learn from real-world examples of cities successfully implementing clean construction policies across different contexts and scales.
- Clean Construction Policy Explorer: Access a comprehensive database of policy approaches that cities can adapt to their local context and priorities.
- Clean Construction Accelerator: Discover how ambitious clean construction targets create quality jobs whilst driving emissions reductions and economic benefits.
VISIBLE: Integrating climate justice into clean construction
VISIBLE is a project focused on integrating climate justice and economic viability at the heart of European cities’ clean construction actions.
See how Madrid, Oslo, and London are creating training programmes, engaging social housing residents, and building inclusive pathways to ensure the clean construction transition benefits marginalised communities and creates good green jobs.
Project VISIBLE is supported by Laudes Foundation. Laudes works with partners to inspire and challenge industry to harness its power for good in repsonse to the dual crises of inequality and climate breakdown.