Put a standard life-cycle label on building materials

The problem: builders and public buyers rarely see the full environmental cost of the materials they choose, so decisions default to price and habit.

The proposal: require a standardised declaration, based on life-cycle assessment, for the most commonly used construction materials. Life-cycle assessment adds up environmental impacts from raw material extraction through manufacture, use and disposal, so that two options can be compared on the same basis.

Who acts: standards bodies define the format; public procurement makes the declaration a condition of selling to government; manufacturers fund their own assessments, with spot checks by independent auditors.

Costs and trade-offs: assessments cost money, especially for small producers, and poor-quality data can be gamed. Start with the five or six materials used in the largest volumes, and publish the method so claims can be challenged.

First step: a pilot in one city's public building programme, with results published alongside the tender documents.