Mexico City transitions to Clean Construction

Buro Happold and C40 Cities have launched the second report in a series of Clean Construction deep dives. They support cities in resourcing efficient, net zero construction to deliver healthy, resilient and thriving urban communities.

The engineering, architecture and construction industry has a huge role to play in bringing about positive social, economic and environmental change. Almost 40% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to buildings and construction.

The built environment is therefore critical to addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency. We must unite as a sector to drive change. Failure to reduce the impact of construction in our cities poses a serious risk to the environment.

Clean Construction in our cities

As a result, C40 Cities launched its global Clean Construction Programme in 2019. The programme supports cities to mitigate the impact of construction, strengthen resilience to climate risks, and facilitate dialogue within the industry.

A series of deep dives into six cities around the world — developed in partnership with Buro Happold — take this one step further. The reports provide local, actionable advice to help city leaders make the case for Clean Construction. They also offer guidance for other cities around the world. The Mexico City deep dive is the second report in the series.

A green and equitable future for Mexico City

Mexico City is one of the most populous and dense cities in the world. The population is relatively young and the city is one the largest generators of formal employment nationally. The city sits on what was once a freshwater lake, in a basin surrounded by mountains.

Construction in Mexico City is a significant part of both the formal and informal economy. It employs many thousands of people and delivers important, large-scale projects. Mexico City is grappling with challenges linked to air quality, water supply, housing standards and provision, and social equity, but is also pioneering international efforts towards adaptive reuse of urban spaces and zero waste.

Mexico City is grappling with high wealth inequality and dangerous levels of air pollution. Many citizens lack access to basic services and face long commutes of several hours. Cities need to invest to tackle these challenges. This often means new buildings or infrastructure, which come with a significant carbon “price tag”. It has been inspiring to work with Mexico City to understand the critical role the built environment can play in tackling these challenges as well as decoupling these actions from hefty carbon footprints. For example, we have reimagined underutilised districts in the city to bring people closer to their place of work. We also built upon the city’s substantial expertise in refurbishment, as a result of past earthquakes.

Fergus Anderson, Sustainability Associate, Buro Happold

How does Clean Construction support Mexico City?

Seven clean construction policy recommendations were identified for Mexico City. They are based on their potential impact, feasibility and alignment with the key benefits identified for the city through interviews, surveys and desktop analysis.

They focus on extending the lifespan of Mexico City’s existing buildings through retrofit, repurposing and maintenance, as well as embedding circular economy principles into the city’s construction sector. The policy seven interventions are:

  • Promote alternative uses for vacant and unused structures, such as integrating mixed-used spaces in Mexico City’s financial centres
  • Use building codes and initiatives such as the Sustainable Building Certification Programme to adapt and refurbish structurally sound buildings rather than demolish.
  • Leverage the significant existing expertise in Mexico City to establish maintenance programmes, with the city leading by example through the repair and retrofit municipal buildings
  • Promote the use of bio-based materials and certified timber products, debunking false perceptions of timber that have emerged through Mexico City’s culture of permeance
  • Use pilot projects and lessons learnt from INFONAVIT to expand the use of pre-prefabricated, off-site and modular construction methods
  • Build on Mexico City’s zero waste commitment and construction waste management codes (NADF-007) to deliver the physical waste processing infrastructure required to facilitate greater reuse and recycling of construction materials in order to minimise embodied carbon emissions
  • Collaborate with institutions such as the Mexico Chamber of Construction Industry to provide clean construction training courses, guidelines and tools.

Download the detailed policy infographic

Transitioning to Clean Construction

One of Mexico City’s key challenges is the huge wealth inequality amongst its residents. Clean Construction offers the opportunity to build a more inclusive, equitable and resilient community and construction workforce across Mexico City. This can be achieved through the creation of green jobs and affordable, high-quality and accessible housing.

Mexico City also has extensive expertise in maintenance, refurbishment and retrofit, as a result of frequent earthquakes. This knowledge can be built upon to promote greater maintenance and reuse of the existing building stock, tackling the city’s high levels of demolition and rebuild.

Mexico City is proud to be one of the front-running cities signatory of the C40 Clean Construction Declaration, along with other C40 cities in the Clean Construction Program, taking leading actions to deliver a resilient, resources-efficient and decarbonized built environment in our cities. Making the Case for Clean Construction in Mexico City will allow us to move even further.

Dr Marina Robles García, Secretary of the Environment, Government of Mexico City

A sustainable future for our cities, communities and planet

All these positive outcomes are inextricably linked. In order to address the need for greater social and environmental justice, cities have a critical role to play in spearheading the vision and leadership needed to facilitate this transition.

The proposed Clean Construction policies for Mexico City will be applicable, to varying degrees, to all cities around the world. Mexico City is embedding Clean Construction requirements in public projects to stimulate the market and secure a sustainable, equitable economy.

The opportunity for change has never been so timely. This report is a key milestone in Mexico City’s pathway toward a regenerative, circular and resilient built environment. It reflects their climate leadership whilst laying out tangible actions for many others cities to adjust and adopt.

Manuel Olivera, Regional Director for Latin America, C40 Cities

Buro Happold and C40 are working with five other cities around the world to make the case for Clean Construction. This work forms part of the C40 Clean Construction Declaration. These cities have committed to reducing the embodied emissions associated with the construction of buildings and infrastructure by 50% by 2030.

This report has been made possible thanks to the support from the C40 team: André Aasrud, Irene Skoula and Paulina Lis. A special mention also goes to Architect Fernanda Velasquez for her important contribution to this report. 

More information about Clean Construction can be found on the C40 Knowledge Hub.

Download the report

Download the report