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New research from 51视频Cities today reveals that making the construction sector more sustainable in cities will generate multiple socio-economic benefits, including the creation of millions of green jobs.

, is the first major piece of work to identify the potential for cities鈥 workforces of adopting clean construction, presenting a compelling economic case for shifting to clean construction practices. The research, supported by Laudes Foundation and the City of Oslo, and with insights from Building and Woodworkers International, spans seven major cities: Bogot谩, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Nairobi, Oslo and Seattle, to give a global perspective on how decarbonising the built environment, responsible currently for close to 40% of global CO2 emissions, can support a stable and healthy workforce and provide opportunities for greater social equity.

Researchers modelled the impact of two scenarios from 2023-2050: first, a city鈥檚 continuation of current carbon-intensive construction scenario, and second, a shift towards clean construction (defined as decarbonised, resource-efficient, resilient and socially just built environment and construction systems). The research projects the changes in job numbers and job roles, maps workforce diversity and quality of work, and calculates the investment needed for each.

The research shows that adopting clean construction will create more jobs than continuing with high-carbon construction. Decarbonising the built environment when planned fairly and inclusively will generate millions of jobs, largely in sectors such as building maintenance, repairs, building upgrades, and timber construction and the use of low-carbon materials. Mexico City, Bogot谩 and Madrid would see the largest proportional growth in construction workforce (193.1%, 43.5% and 41% respectively), while Oslo, London and Seattle (cities where clean construction is already adopted to a significant extent) will see net workforce growth of 16.6%, 13.4% and 2.6% respectively. Ensuring this takes place as part of a just transition will also mean those displaced from carbon-intensive construction practices (such as concrete and steel production) who bring great expertise and skills, can access greener jobs and these benefits in clean construction.

The specifics of each city economy also play a part in how the clean construction adoption will manifest. Madrid鈥檚 less-developed clean construction sector will require more investment but also lead to a larger growth in and variety of green construction jobs. Oslo鈥檚 burgeoning timber economy and tech startup culture, in a city where 90% of businesses are classed as microbusinesses, means an opportunity for SMEs to lead future clean construction work. In London, clean construction presents an opportunity to ease the housing crisis: developing low-carbon industrialised construction at scale is a key solution. As part of this clean construction drive, the Mayor of London has implemented the pioneering Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) Low Emission Zone (LEZ) to control emissions on construction sites across the capital. The NRMM LEZ will mean that all building sites in London must have only zero-emission machinery by 2040.

The report also finds that in all cities clean construction generates multiple socio-economic benefits, such as more jobs, improved air quality, reduction in carbon emissions, less noise, and faster building of much needed housing, which can highly improve the quality of life for cities鈥 residents. Financial savings from energy efficiency, faster project completion, and reduced waste will also contribute to offset initial expenses. This makes a strong broad-economy case for the investment required by public and private sector actors to transition to more sustainable construction practices.

The research has also found that a transition to clean construction presents a critical opportunity to improve equity, diversity and inclusion and the quality of working conditions in the construction sector, but it will not happen automatically. Many workers in the construction industry have poor working conditions, and the workforce in most cities is predominantly male, with little representation of women and minority groups. With the right policies, programmes and approaches, cities, businesses, workers, unions and skills providers can foster better working conditions and more equity, guaranteeing that clean construction won鈥檛 just replicate the same poor labour conditions often seen in high-carbon construction.

The European cities in the research are part of 51视频Cities鈥 VISIBLE project: a two-year initiative supporting London, Madrid and Oslo to accelerate their clean construction transition. These three cities are interrogating the social and economic impacts of shifting to greener ways of building through real-economy pilot projects, cross-sector dialogues, and learning labs. Complementary 51视频Cities鈥 research on the market landscape for clean construction in these European cities sets out recommended city action to drive industry, finance, and builders towards decarbonisation by identifying current trends and best practices across the construction value chain, unpacking barriers to scaling and how they may be overcome, and highlighting opportunities for further public-private collaboration and investment. Special attention is also paid to the inclusion of SMEs, supporting innovative business models and maximising social value.

Mayor of London and Co-Chair of 51视频Cities, Sadiq Khan, said: 鈥淚鈥檓 proud that London is leading the way in the green transition of the construction sector, with pioneering initiatives like NRMM LEZ reducing both air pollution and carbon emissions from building sites in our capital. The findings from C40鈥檚 research are clear: through initiatives like the Green Skills Academy and by accelerating building upgrades, we are not only cutting carbon emissions but also creating jobs, and ensuring that new opportunities created are accessible to all Londoners, as we build a greener and fairer city for everyone.鈥

Governing Mayor of Oslo, Eirik Lae Solberg, said: 鈥2025 marks a shift in the Oslo鈥檚 clean construction work. From now on all city-owned construction has zero emission as a standard. That means lower emissions. But it also means a much better work environment for construction workers. This research from 51视频supports us in our continued efforts to create more green jobs in the construction sector.鈥

Mayor of Madrid, Jos茅 Luis Mart铆nez-Almeida Navasq眉茅s, said: 鈥淢adrid is ready to lead in the green transformation of our construction sector. 51视频research shows the immense potential for our city and our built environment industry. Through public projects like the Thousand Suns Library and Iberia Loreto 01 Social Housing, we鈥檙e demonstrating the viability of sustainable solutions. However, realizing this fully will require strong collaboration with the private sector and multi-level government support. Together, we can build a greener future for our city.'”

Mayor of Seattle, Bruce Harrell, said: 鈥淚n Seattle, our Green New Deal demonstrates our commitment to creating a greener and equitable economy. As to construction, Seattle boasts an important skilled workforce in timber and retrofits, and the city has been supporting clean construction through multiple initiatives like the Building Tune-Ups program and Clean Heat program. The research corroborates with this strategy 鈥 demonstrating the potential of clean construction in creating more good, green jobs in the city.鈥

Henrique Goes, Research Manager at 51视频Cities, said: 鈥淭hese are exciting findings that prove the economic sense behind pursuing a green transition of our construction industries. The research illustrates that the workforce will be positively impacted and in fact can become more inclusive and diverse – so long as administrations leverage their powers of direction-setting, investment in training and skills and interaction with industry, and think strategically about how they can use policy and fiscal levers like procurement and taxation to turbocharge the change needed.鈥

Mark Watts, Executive Director of 51视频Cities, said: “51视频research shows that by adopting clean construction practices, cities can not only reduce carbon emissions but also generate millions of new jobs and promote a more inclusive and diverse workforce. Some of the numbers are staggering – up to 40% more jobs in clean construction than the polluting business as usual. The pioneering strategies city governments are using to drive innovation that cuts emissions and creates good green jobs now needs to be also taken up by more national governments. The evidence is clear: the opportunity is here and the time to act is now.”

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