The CRC for Low Carbon Living (CRCLCL) was a national research and innovation hub seeking to enable a globally competitive low carbon built environment sector. The Centre was supported by the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) program.
With a focus on collaborative innovation, the Centre brought together property, planning, engineering and policy organisations with leading Australian researchers. The CRCLCL developed new social, technological and policy tools for facilitating the development of low carbon products and services to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment.
The CRCLCL delivered:
- opportunities for lower-carbon manufacturing
- a more efficient and productive built environment sector as a whole
- engaged communities participating in low carbon living
- an evidence base for good planning and policy
- large-scale national capability development
- tools, technologies and techniques that will ensure the sector remains globally competitive
A key aim of the CRCLCL was to help cut Australia’s residential and commercial carbon emissions by 10 mega tonnes by 2020. This will be achieved through developing low carbon building construction materials and increasing the evidence base for government policy and planning, among other measures. Australia has set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of 25 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050 compared with 2000 levels.
Ultimately the CRCLCL helped unlock barriers to cost-effective carbon reduction opportunities, empowered communities and facilitated the widespread adoption of integrated renewable energy. This enabled the sector to transition and contribute to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions targets while maintaining industry competitiveness and improving quality of life.
