As the built environment accelerates its transition to net zero, globally coherent yet locally actionable whole-life carbon (WLC) accounting is becoming essential. Today, approaches vary widely across regions, sectors, and maturity levels, creating barriers for policy alignment, financing decisions, supply-chain transparency, and climate action. This interactive workshop will bring together experts from government, academia, industry, finance, and NGOs to identify minimum viable principles for carbon accounting and pathways for implementation in diverse contexts. 

Together we will: 

✔  Examine consistency of efforts and alignment of standards

✔  Identify key data gaps and implementation challenges

✔ Discuss how carbon accounting can better inform design, procurement, valuation, reporting, and planning decisions

How high-level accounting principles along with better data and accounting systems unlock more effective climate action in the built environment? Can we arrive at harmonized methods that reflect local realities? 

This session addresses the challenges of fragmented and inconsistent carbon accounting principles and supporting data across the built environment. It explores whole-life carbon accounting, shared standards, interoperable data systems, and open access platforms. The discussion highlights how improved data infrastructure can inform better design, policy, and investment decisions while reducing emissions.