Resilient Cities and Communities – Why addressing embodied carbon matters. A MECLA discussion with case studies

​Cities largely shape outcomes through procurement, planning and capital works. MECLA’s CAW2026 event will support this year’s theme of “building cities and communities able to thrive under climate pressure” by tackling one of the most critical but often overlooked challenges — the embodied carbon in the materials that shape our built environment. By convening the full construction value chain in a pre‑competitive ‘do‑tank’, MECLA turns low‑carbon ambition into practical, scalable delivery. This helps cities reduce long‑term climate and transition risk, align procurement with net‑zero pathways, and build the confidence and capability needed to deliver climate‑ready buildings and infrastructure at scale. Our speakers bring industry and government expertise to the discussion.

​Cities cannot “thrive under climate pressure” if the materials used to build them:

• ​lock in high emissions for decades and potentially causes high levels of future construction waste,

• ​expose projects to future carbon costs, regulation, and supply disruption,

• ​or slow down the transition because low‑carbon options are perceived as risky or unavailable.

​MECLA’s work is explicitly positioned around embodied carbon as a systems risk — particularly as operational emissions fall and materials become the dominant share of lifecycle emissions in buildings and infrastructure.

​MECLA helps cities reduce embedded climate risk by:

• ​accelerating uptake of lower‑emissions steel, concrete, aluminium and other materials,

• ​supporting circular and materials‑efficiency approaches,

• ​and aligning construction supply chains with net‑zero and 2035 sectoral pathways.

​This directly strengthens the resilience of urban infrastructure to future policy, price and physical climate shocks enabling climate‑ready procurement and delivery

​Addressing embodied carbon makes it easier for councils, state agencies and public developers to embed climate resilience into projects without slowing delivery.

​Thriving under climate pressure requires capability, not just intent which builds the human and institutional capacity cities need to respond effectively to climate constraints.

​Speakers: Monica Richter to facilitate

​·       Hudson Worsley – why systems change is important and how MECLA enables disruption to happen

​·       Alison Scotland – state of play on where industry is at and what needs to be done

​·       Clare Tubolets – materials selection is fundamental and the role of concrete in building resilience while also reducing EC.

​·       CJ Wilson – why design matters as a climate response and how it also can benefit EC

​·       Darryl Stuckey– The role of major constructors in building resilience in cities and communities and why EC is also important.