The built environment was identified as a priority life cycle program for Materials Management in the 2020 Framework for Action, because of the significant impact it has on the natural environment, ecosystems, people, and more-than-human being.
- Buildings account for 30 percent of Oregon's consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions. 8 percent is due to construction materials alone.
- Nearly one-third of Oregon's waste stream is made up of construction and demolition waste.
- The built environment affects human health through exposure to toxics in materials, proximity to polluting industrial uses, indoor environmental quality and vulnerability during natural disasters.
- The built environment has played, and continues to play, a role in the structural inequities that exacerbate the burdens of the climate and health crises, environmental injustice, and economic opportunities for BIPOC, low-income, rural and other frontline communities.