Closing the Data Gap for Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Buildings

As the global construction and real estate industry intensifies efforts to meet net zero carbon targets, the capacity to perform robust, whole life carbon (WLC) assessments has become essential for guiding climate-aligned design and regulation. Reliable, transparent, and digitally accessible greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data is critical to this transition. This paper applies an established reference framework to selected national GHG emissions databases, evaluating their capacity to support WLC accounting. The analysis reveals meaningful progress in open access, modular data structuring, and standards compliance, yet also persistent limitations in transparency, temporal responsiveness, and interoperability with digital design and/or assessment tools. Particular attention is given to challenges related to Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in line with ISO 21930 and EN 15804+A2, including limited machine-readability and constrained access to underlying life cycle inventory data. The study highlights key areas for improvement, such as clearer licensing, enhanced data usability across stakeholder groups, and harmonization of digital formats. By exposing critical gaps and comparative strengths, this paper contributes to ongoing efforts to improve GHG emissions data ecosystems and mainstream WLC accounting in support of performance-based building decarbonization policies.