There is a growing emphasis on reducing the amount of carbon that is embodied in buildings, a huge contributor of greenhouse gas emissions is the real estate sector. Despite this, a number of challenges, primary among them economical limitations, obstruct the advancement of meaningful carbon reduction. Interestingly, there is an absence of research that focuses on these financial issues from the perspective of developers, and what little study there is sometimes lacks thorough analysis and practical answers. Reevaluating developers' investment decision-making is crucial, especially in light of the industry's recognition of the need of reducing carbon emissions, especially with regard to embodied carbon. But incorporating these fresh viewpoints into useful models is still a challenging task. Therefore, "How can developers manage the paradox between profitability and embodied carbon reduction?" is the research question. By answering this question, knowledge of the ways in which developers' perspectives are influenced by financial factors when integrating embodied carbon reduction strategies into investment decision-making is improved. The goal of this study is to guide developers and the broader system surrounding this subject to profitable Paris Proof projects. This change is anticipated to enable the installation of new, ecologically friendly dwellings while considerably lowering the building and construction sector's carbon footprint.

Industrialised Construction gains traction as it is seen as a solution to create resource efficiencies in the Built Environment. In practice, this increase in industrialisation leads to an increase in standardisation efforts. Meanwhile, the Circular Economy is incrementally being introduced to the Built Environment. Circular Building is often applied through designing or constructing buildings made out of modular components. The combined efforts of Industrialised Construction and Circular Building, often depicted as standardised modular building or Circular Industrialised Construction, are being researched. However, we know very little about the operation and end-of-life strategies of these buildings.

This research examines the strategies three case companies apply for their standardised modular buildings' operation and end-of-life phases. The research is carried out by conducting interviews with employees of the three case companies. The initial selection of case companies, CitizenM, Daiwa Modular Europe, and Home.Earth, is based on their utilisation of industrialised building methods and their assertions regarding circularity. Additionally, the companies are selected by a few diversifying characteristics, such as whether they are owner/developer, the type of real estate they develop, and the type of components they manufacture (volumetric or planar). After the initial within-case analysis, a cross-case analysis is carried out.

The case studies demonstrate that there exist many differentiating approaches to the operation and end-of-life phases of Circular Industrialised Construction buildings. A reason for these varying methods is on which building layers significant efforts are made to circularise the buildings. An important enabler of circularising the operation and end-of-life phase is to appropriate the design phase and extensively collaborate in or with the manufacturing phase. Additionally, some pitfalls are identified for the application of Circular Industrialised Construction.

Based on the initial results, a Circular Industrialised Construction framework is being proposed. The framework combines the different Shearing Layers Concept and the different phases associated with Industrialised Construction and design. The framework categorises the identified strategies in the different phases based on the Shearing Layer Concept. The aim is to provide a directory that allows companies to incrementally implement circularity efforts or adopt an Industrialised Construction approach.

The Dutch government's 2050 initiative to transition all buildings from natural gas to sustainable heat systems underscores the critical role of stakeholder alignment in energy transition projects. Despite its importance, existing literature lacks a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms required for effective stakeholder collaboration in heat grid projects. This study addresses this gap through an explorative qualitative analysis, employing interviews and a representative case study to examine: How can collective decision-making be orchestrated to overcome the barriers of low carbon heating grid projects in mixed-use neighbourhoods? The findings identify the primary barriers to project success as political-legislative uncertainty, lack of transparency & trust, and lack of participation & cooperation, and propose a collective decision-making framework for enhancing stakeholder decision-making processes outlining which stakeholders should be involved during barrier/stakeholder intensive moments. The research contributes to the literature on collaborative innovation for heating grids by outlining strategies for overcoming obstacles in heat grid project implementation, highlighting the significance of coordinated action among diverse stakeholders for achieving energy transition goals.

To prevent global warming, CO2 emissions must be reduced by 95%. The
building and construction industries account for over 15% of all direct CO2
emissions. However, currently there are no regulations for carbon net-zero
developments. Investors adhere to current sustainability requirements because
there are many barriers develop carbon net-zero. To achieve carbon net-zero,
buildings have to be energy-neutral, and climate-friendly as possible all other
emissions must be minimized and compensated. What we now often see is that
a forest is planted somewhere else to compensate for the carbon emissions.
Instead, urban areas themselves could be a solution to compensate for carbon
emissions. Furthermore, the UN argues that plans against global warming are
still inadequate and also other parties have to take responsibility to reduce
carbon emissions. Yet, how they should act is unknown. The one thing that is
known is that private parties have a steering role in sustainable urban area
developments. Based on this problem statement, the following main research
question is formulated: What can developers do to influence carbon offsets in
the development areas in the Netherlands? To answer this question, a literature
review is conducted. Moreover, case studies with semi-structured interviews
and an expert panel have been used to validate. Developers could translate
indirect and direct influenceable barriers into opportunities and thereby
influence each phase with the necessary parties and the necessary tool. The
framework provides a structured approach to navigate complexities and
maximize impact, resulting in a greener future with less carbon.