MECLA

Materials & Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance (MECLA) 

The built environment sector including the cities and towns we live and work in is responsible for one-quarter of Australia’s greenhouse emissions. Globally, the steel, cement and aluminium industries alone each produce about 7-9% of annual global greenhouse emissions. All these materials are used extensively in the building and construction of our homes, the places we visit and the roads we drive on and the public transport we catch. Billions of dollars of infrastructure are built each year using these materials that are built to last for many decades into the future. That is a lot of upfront or embodied carbon. 

Embodied carbon is the total greenhouse emissions generated during the manufacture of the materials and products used in the construction and refurbishment of new and existing buildings and infrastructure. There is an urgency around embodied carbon to reduce the greenhouse footprint of these materials but it requires collaboration and leadership. And here is what we are doing about it. 

WWF-Australia is on a mission to help make the materials used in the building and construction of our cities and towns meet net-zero carbon targets that align with the Paris Agreement. 

Reducing the emissions intensity of those sectors will be fundamental to achieving a zero carbon economy. By bringing different sectors together across the building and construction supply chain we can collectively gain a better understanding of barriers to uptake and find the solutions that will be vital to moving ahead.

Materials & Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance (MECLA) brings together the drive to reduce embodied carbon in the building and construction industry. MECLA is determined to transform the building and construction sector to reach net-zero emissions. MECLA recognises the growing demand for lower and zero-carbon materials worldwide and, WWF-Australia is keen to explore how we can work together to move Australia towards a zero carbon economy and position Australia in the top five zero carbon materials suppliers. 

Our mega MECLA plan

This collaboration of organisations comes together to drive reductions in embodied carbon in the building and construction industry. We seek to align with the Paris Agreement targets and principles of the circular economy and recognise that the building and construction sector is a complex ecosystem. We have a number of Working Groups and through our volunteers across the industry we will address barriers and identify opportunities to:

• Demonstrate demand 
• Defining a best practice embodied carbon evaluation framework
• Capture industry case studies that showcase excellent and share this  knowledge widely
• Develop a common language for procurement guidelines
• Help manage climate transition risk
• Support the acceleration of the materials supply side

For technical resources and knowledge sharing, please go to the MECLA page on the Supply Chain Sustainability School website. 

If you would like to learn more about MECLA and the MECLA Governance Structure, get in touch at mecla@wwf.org.au