he Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC) was proud to contribute as a knowledge partner to the Sustainable Buildings and Construction Summit 2026 in Lausanne—bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, financial institutions, and civil society to accelerate the transition toward a more sustainable and resilient built environment.
Together with the Coalition for Responsible Sand and Silicates, CSC co-organised a dedicated workshop on “Responsible Sourcing of Building Materials: From Due Diligence to Market Uptake.”
The discussion brought together a diverse group of experts across the value chain and focused on a critical question:
how can responsible sourcing move from fragmented initiatives to a scalable market reality?
A key insight from the session was clear: the construction sector is not simply downstream—it is the primary demand signal shaping how materials are extracted globally.
With over 40 billion tonnes of aggregates consumed annually, and materials such as sand and silicates embedded not only in structures but also in modern building technologies, every project, specification, and procurement decision directly influences extraction practices on the ground.
Discussions highlighted a growing gap—and opportunity—between two existing approaches:
Product-level certification, such as CSC, widely used in sustainable construction and procurementRisk-based due diligence, as promoted by frameworks such as the OECD Guidelines and increasingly embedded in regulation (e.g. CSDDD)
Participants emphasized that the future likely lies in combining both approaches:
certification providing credible, comparable market signals, and due diligence ensuring continuous risk identification and management across supply chains.
While decarbonisation remains a central priority, the session highlighted an important imbalance:
upstream impacts linked to raw material extraction—such as biodiversity loss, water stress, and social risks—receive significantly less attention.
Rather than competing priorities, participants pointed to strong co-benefits:
responsible sourcing can simultaneously contribute to climate goals, ecosystem resilience, supply security, and social outcomes.
The role of circular economy solutions—particularly recycled aggregates—was widely recognised as essential.
However, participants stressed that scaling these solutions requires:
Better alignment of incentives
Recognition of full lifecycle value
Avoidance of unintended consequences (e.g. transport emissions or artificial waste generation)
The discussion reinforced a key principle:
responsible sourcing will only scale if it creates clear value—not only compliance.
Across the discussion, four key enabling conditions emerged:
Shared definitions and trust across the value chain
Robust data and traceability systems at scale
Strong market signals, including integration into green building certifications, public procurement, and sustainable financeCapacity and practical tools to support implementation across diverse markets
Participants highlighted the important role of third-party certification systems such as CSC in translating sustainability ambitions into practical, verifiable frameworks.
At the same time, there is a clear opportunity to further strengthen alignment with emerging due diligence expectations and regulatory developments—ensuring that certification continues to evolve alongside market needs.
The session pointed to several concrete directions for future collaboration, including:
Exploring sector-specific due diligence guidance for construction materialsEstablishing a joint working group across the value chainContinuing to strengthen existing certification frameworksLearning from other sectors, such as timber, where responsible sourcing has successfully scaled
These are starting points—but they reflect a strong and growing momentum toward a more integrated and credible approach to responsible sourcing.
CSC looks forward to continuing this work with partners globally.
We warmly thank our panellists—Marco Sirotti (Bellona Europa), Eugenia Ceballos (Holcim), Marc Goichot (WWF), and Geneviève Sherman (Concrete Transition Capital)—as well as all participants for their valuable insights and open exchange.