Using Green Building Materials for Resilient Construction in 2025
By Evelyn Long, editor-in-chief of Renovated
According to the world’s leading atmospheric scientists and climatologists, climate change is worsening. The construction industry — a major greenhouse gas emitter — is prioritizing resilient construction in 2025. If more turn to green building materials, the positive environmental impact could be exponential.
The Key Components of Resilient Construction
Structures are resilient when they can hold out against — and recover quickly from — extreme weather, temperatures and weight. Ideally, they should be able to endure natural disasters like floods, earthquakes or wildfires. Above all else, they should be able to withstand the test of time.
The concept of resilient construction covers material sourcing, building and maintenance. Building something that will last centuries takes tremendous planning.
While making buildings resilient seems like a given, the construction industry is focused more on speed than quality. For reference, in 2023, 27 billion square feet of drywall — a panel of gypsum plaster sandwiched between sheets of paper — was sold in the United States. Even a well-placed punch could break through that material.
The faster companies complete their work, the less they spend on labor and the more projects they can take on. As a result, resilient construction is not the norm — but it should be.
The longer structures stand, the less impact they have on the environment and climate. This reduction is crucial because the construction sector is the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter. It is responsible for 37% of global emissions, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
If this trend continues, climate change will worsen. Weather events will grow increasingly intense, temperatures will rise, and droughts will become more frequent. Buildings made from drywall and plywood won’t stand a chance in this environment. Conversely, those with durable materials, flexible designs and efficient mechanical systems will.
While green building materials do not need to be part of resilient construction, they should be. It’s 2025 — many eco-friendly products now outperform their conventional counterparts.
What Green Building Materials Are Being Used?
Architects, engineers and small businesses have explored many green building materials, from newspaper-based wood to plant-based spray foam insulation. However, many of these options are still understudied and unstandardized, making them expensive to use commercially. A select few will catch on in 2025.
Natural Green Building Materials
Insulation prevents heat from transferring indoors to outdoors and vice versa, preventing temperature fluctuations and reducing energy waste. Sheep’s wool is an exceptional insulator. It is unique because it is non-toxic, mold-resistant, biodegradable and absorbent. Technically, it is also a renewable resource.
Eco-friendly insulation promotes resilient construction, but more durable supplies are better. While concrete is among the strongest building materials, it is unsustainable. Cement and concrete manufacturing accounts for up to 9% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated by humans. Post-construction, they create heat islands, contributing to climate change.
Rammed earth is quickly becoming a popular replacement for concrete. This compacted mixture typically uses clay-rich soil, gravel, sand and lime mineral powder. Locally available aggregates and soils are more sustainable. The rammed earth walls can be reinforced with reclaimed wood or bamboo for additional strength.
Ferrock is similar to rammed earth but isn’t made from clay-rich soil. Instead, it combines recycled iron dust, lime mineral powder, fly ash and ground-up silica. These substances react with water, producing iron carbonates. The iron carbonates bind CO2 to the ferrock brick, absorbing it during the hardening process.
Despite using iron and silica, ferrock is environmentally friendly. Around 95% of the substances contained in this concrete substitute are recycled, most of which are byproducts from iron mills and demolition projects.
Bio-Based Green Building Materials
Although hemp comes from the same species of plant as marijuana, it is different. It contains less than 0.3% of tetrahydrocannabinol — the psychoactive compound. It isn’t a drug. Instead, it is used in biofuel, clothing and cosmetics. Recently, the construction industry has found a use for it.
Hempcrete is a blend of lime mineral, hemp hurd — the plant’s woody innermost core — and water. It is biodegradable and lightweight, making it an exceptional alternative to concrete. Once it is fully cured, it can even float on water. It often comes in precast, interlocking blocks that stack like Legos.
Mycelium is another green building material that will become more popular in 2025. This fungal substance is obtained from mushrooms’ root structures. The fibrous network is made up of filaments called hyphae, which look like thin, white threads.
Workers inject spores into an organic substrate to make mycelium blocks. While rectangles and squares are easier to stack, any shaped mold will work. The mycelium quickly spreads and binds together. Soon afterward, it is dried to prevent further growth. The result is an eco-friendly, long-lasting, fireproof block.
Cork is another biological-based green building material. It comes from the outer bark of the cork oak tree. Interestingly, it is renewable. Every nine to 12 years, workers can strip the bark without damaging the tree. Since the trees live for up to 200 years, they can harvest each one up to 22 times. As a result, it is more sustainable than traditional lumber.
The Pros and Cons of Green Building Materials
Which options are best for resilient construction? How do they outperform their traditional counterparts? Are there any drawbacks to using them? Each green building material has unique pros and cons.
Sheep’s Wool
Although small-scale sheep wool production is environmentally friendly, it can quickly become unsustainable commercially. Workers can only shear sheep once or twice per year. To increase output, farms will need more animals, which produce CO2 and methane.
Not to mention, wool is already up to seven times more costly to process and manufacture than less sustainable synthetic fibers. If climate change worsens, making raising livestock more difficult and expensive, sheep’s wool may no longer be a viable building material.
Rammed Earth
Rammed earth is more durable than concrete. If properly constructed, it can last for centuries. Moreover, it is an excellent insulator thanks to its low thermal conductivity and high thermal mass. It can absorb, store and gradually release heat.
This natural temperature regulation reduces the need for mechanical heating and cooling systems, enabling energy savings. Since air conditioning is a major contributor to climate change — and its emissions are expected to triple by 2050 — this benefit is significant.
So what’s holding rammed earth back? For one, it is expensive. On average, it costs $450 to $750 per square meter. In comparison, a brick wall costs $20 or less per square meter. Unfortunately, it requires pricey equipment and specialized labor.
Ferrock
During the hardening process, ferrock actively absorbs CO2, whereas concrete releases CO2 during production. In addition to being more sustainable, it also outperforms similar construction materials — it is five times stronger than standard Portland cement.
Like concrete, it reaches near-full strength at 28 days — 99% of its total compressive strength, to be exact.
However, its compressive strength is 13.5% higher, its split tensile strength is 20% higher, and its flexural strength is 18% higher than concrete.
That said, downsides do exist. Currently, around 95% of the substances in ferrock are recycled. This figure may sharply drop once this green building material becomes popular since iron mills and demolition projects won’t be able to keep up with demand.
Hemp
Hemp is cost-effective because it can be planted and harvested multiple times every year. It is also sustainable, requiring little water and energy to cultivate. While it grows, it absorbs CO2. When it is turned into blocks, it still actively sequesters carbon.
Hempcrete is durable, lending to resilient construction. It is seven times stronger than standard concrete. It also has excellent thermal insulation and moisture regulation properties. However, it is relatively expensive.
While using ready-to-use hemp blocks can shorten the construction timeline by 20% to 30%, helping companies save on labor, the high upfront investment costs may offset savings. It can increase a project’s material costs by 30% to 40%.
Mycelium
Mycelium grows on waste products from crop harvests, so there is always an abundance of resources for cultivation. It is resilient to climate change because it can withstand temperatures up to 437 degrees Fahrenheit before it starts decomposing.
However, while this fungal substance can grow relatively fast, no standard cultivation technique exists. A widely accepted process must be developed to overcome the hurdle of building codes and industry standards.
Cork
Cork is naturally impact-resistant and flexible, making it ideal for resilient construction. According to Paula Kennedy, an award-winning interior designer and certified architectural color consultant, cork can last 50 years when used indoors.
However, climate change is already affecting cork oaks. It impacts bark quality, which adversely affects growth, thickness and porosity — the key factors that contribute to this green building material’s unique characteristics.
Green Building Materials Improve Resilient Construction
Green building materials can elevate resilient construction, helping structures perform better, use fewer resources and last longer. Ultimately, they result in net improvements. However, some options are not as climate-resilient as they should be. The industry should come together to address this concern within the next decade.
About the Author
Evelyn Long is a writer and the editor-in-chief of Renovated. Her work has been published by NCCER, Build Magazine and other online publications.