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From 2012-2019 the CRC for Low Carbon Living was Australia's leading research and innovation hub dedicated to driving the nation's built environment sector towards a globally competitive low carbon future. Visit our legacy knowledge hub Builtbetter for all our resources and find our Exit Report 2012-2019 here

The CRC for Low Carbon Living's research leveraged world class expertise from six universities, the CSIRO and a wealth of knowledge provided by all its participants. This research draws on multidisciplinary expertise, leverages existing technology development, incorporates social research, and used national benchmark software tools.

While international research suggests some possible pathways for carbon reduction in the built environment, the CRCLCL discovered the underlying principles of low carbon living in the Australian context. This addressed the unique requirements of the Australian climate, construction practices, demographics and policy environment.

The CRCLCL had three research programs, reflecting the three pivotal "bridges" to be crossed to deliver a low carbon built environment.

  • This program developed:

    • building-integrated multipurpose solar products,
    • low-carbon-lifecycle building construction components/ materials, and
    • integrated design, energy rating and reduction methodologies.

    These outputs targeted next generation construction practices, where step-change emission cuts are required. New design tools, rating frameworks and Australian Standards underpinned and stimulate the market for low carbon buildings, products and services.

    The building fabric represents around 15% of building lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, and presents a significant opportunity for carbon reduction. This is currently a problem in carbon footprint terms, but innovative use of fabric materials and design provides a significant opportunity for incorporating passive and active renewable energy solutions. The potential was evident from the scale of roof area in Australian cities, which receive enough sunlight to power all of Australia’s built environment needs. The challenge of the program was to re-envision Australian building materials, construction practices and appliance technologies as integrated low carbon and renewable energy systems. 

  • Infrastructure changes in the built environment, resulting from the expected 60 per cent growth in Australia's population by 2050, will significantly influence and entrench the way we consume energy and our resulting carbon signature. The Low Carbon Precincts program focused on reducing the carbon footprint of urban systems, with key consideration being given to integrating the interlinked aspects of energy, water, waste, transport and buildings - all of which have significant carbon signatures as well as human health impacts.

    The challenge was to reduce the carbon footprint of precinct infrastructure through the development of better tools and planning techniques to make low carbon infrastructure valuable and desirable to the buyer. As a result, low carbon precincts were transformed into highly desirable lifestyle options. Improved planning of precincts aimed to allow carbon footprint to be reduced to zero in the longer term, at the same time as quality of life continued to grow.

    The program developed new knowledge and tools to enable the design of, and stimulate the market for, low carbon infrastructure at the precinct scale. This helped facilitate property developers and local government partners to provide low carbon infrastructure development as well as redevelopment and retrofitting at the planning point of delivery.

    An emphasis on research education and training in building information modelling (BIM), and extensions to a new precinct scale (PIM) platform, dramatically improved SME design productivity. Integrated tools were developed for demand forecasting at the precinct level, covering energy, transport, waste and water. Design and assessment tools for precincts, focusing on low carbon performance, were developed, applied and tested. Health and productivity co-benefits analysis demonstrated the increased value and stimulate demand for low carbon precincts.

    The workflow structure for the Low Carbon Precincts program is indicated in Figure 1. It included six connected work packages, which also linked to the other programs in the CRC.

  • A community’s carbon footprint is ultimately determined by the choices made by individual people, resident groups, industrialists and businesses. This program focused on understanding and influencing consumer behaviour and decision-making in order to reduce the carbon intensity of modern lifestyles.

    The use of both qualitative and quantitative research ensured a full understanding of why communities behave the way they do and how they can transition them to low carbon ways of living. Policy scenario analysis quantified the effectiveness of alternative options, providing an evidence base for policy development by government partners. 

    New low carbon living strategies that mobilise cultural and social capitals to empower communities to make low carbon choices were demonstrated. 

    CRC research findings were fully road tested in “living laboratories” to ensure that results were robust, tangible and appealing to a broad range of communities. The results were used to develop community education and training resources, including those for mass media dissemination.

Each program consisted of one or more of the CRCLCL's eight Impact Pathways, representing specific areas in which the CRCLCL aimed to transform the low carbon built environment.