Buildings as carbon stores: Europe’s next big shift

Buildings are a major cause of the climate crisis. But they can also be part of the solution, by storing carbon in long-lived materials like timber. As the EU develops a methodology to recognise this under the CRCF, Built by Nature has engaged in the process to help ensure it delivers real impact. Done right, this approach could make the climate value of biobased construction visible, credible and investable, and accelerate the shift to a more circular, low-carbon built environment.

The EU CRCF Regulation was adopted in 2024 as the EU’s first voluntary framework for certifying permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products. Since then, the European Commission has begun developing the detailed methodologies that will determine how different activities can be certified in practice. The methodology for carbon storage in buildings is expected by the end of 2026 and is intended to help building owners demonstrate the carbon-storage performance of their buildings.

In May 2026, the Commission consulted on options for a methodology for long-term temporary biogenic carbon storage in buildings. Built by Nature responded to this consultation because the methodology could become an important route for recognising what the built environment can contribute to Europe’s climate transition: not only reducing emissions, but also storing carbon in long-lived, responsibly sourced wood-based and other biobased construction products.

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The significance of this methodology goes beyond certification. If designed well, it can help make the storage value of biobased materials visible, credible and financeable. It can support developers, building owners, public procurers and investors who want to use timber and other biobased materials in ways that are durable, circular and aligned with environmental integrity. It can also strengthen Europe’s bioeconomy by creating clearer market signals for materials that store carbon, reduce reliance on highly emissive materials, and support new skills, supply chains and industrial capacity.

This development is part of a wider shift in EU policy. The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is bringing life-cycle global warming potential into the buildings agenda. The revised Construction Products Regulation will strengthen the product data and performance architecture for construction materials, including through digital product passports. The EU Bioeconomy Strategy points toward wider use of sustainable bio-based materials, including in construction. The EU Deforestation Regulation, meanwhile, provides an important forest-integrity floor by requiring covered products, including wood, to be deforestation-free and legally produced.

Taken together, these policies are beginning to form a more coherent system. But coherence will not happen automatically. Carbon storage certification must connect to whole-life carbon accounting, responsible sourcing, product performance, circular design, public procurement and credible claims. Otherwise, the risk is fragmentation: different rules, different datasets, different claims and different incentives pulling the market in different directions. This is where the Principles for Responsible Timber Construction can play a useful role. Endorsed by 15 governments, 2 cities and more than 350 industry partners to date, the principles offer a practical forest-to-building framework for responsible timber use. They cover extending the life of existing buildings, accounting for whole-life cycle impacts, ensuring sustainable forest management, maximising durable carbon storage, and promoting a timber building bioeconomy.

Principles for Responsible Timber Construction

Built by Nature believes the methodology should support a broad, practical and integrity-led pathway for timber and biobased materials. It should be open to different building types where carbon is stored in long-lived, verifiable and durable elements. It should use robust but proportionate data requirements, credible baselines, practical monitoring and strong safeguards on responsible sourcing, circularity and cascading use.

Europe needs buildings that are lower carbon, longer lasting and more circular. A well-designed CRCF methodology can help accelerate that shift by recognising the climate value of responsible biobased construction and by giving the market greater confidence to invest, procure and build differently.