Bio-based materials represent the best hope for “radical decarbonization” through the responsible management of carbon cycles. The CO2 emissions from buildings has hit a new high, pushing the sector off track of its goal to decarbonize by 2050, the report says. The emerging use of bio-based building materials offers tangible ways to perhaps mitigate this crisis.

Whether used in the construction of our buildings, consumer goods or discarded in our environment, PVC flooring has been increasingly scrutinized over the years as a contributor to health-related illnesses, environmental degradation, and human rights abuses.

The use of forced labor in making solar panels is rampant. Polysilicon, the main material component of solar panels, was once produced mostly in the United States, but over the course of the past decade, China has seized control of the global market. The majority of the world’s polysilicon comes from the Uyghur region of China, where an estimated one million people are held in forced labor conditions.

While much has been discovered and reported about human rights abuses in the global garment supply chain, textiles used in building products like shades, rugs, wall furnishings, and chair upholstery are also subject to significant risk.

Mica is a group of silicate crystal minerals that form in distinct layers, making individual sheet silicates that are light, soft, flexible, and heat resistant. There are two types of mica that are mined: sheet mica and scrap and flake mica.

Global steel production averages 2 billion tons each year, half of which comes from Chinese mills. The myriad components of steel are extracted from other countries, too, like Brazil, Columbia, India, Mexico, and Pakistan, all of which have been identified by the U.S. Department of State as places known to use forced labor in their mining industries. For this reason, using imported steel from foreign fabricators is increasingly risky, with threats to sustainability, thousands of American jobs, our national industrial investment, and the livelihood of the billions impacted by forced labor.

As one of the most widely-used materials in global construction, imported timber into the United States is the fifth largest product by value that is at risk of forced labor, according to the Global Slavery Index. The evidence that such abuses exist in the logging industry is widespread, and it is estimated that 50 percent of illegally-harvested timber is produced through forced labor.

The U.S. Department of Labor lists a number of stone products extracted at the hands of forced labor and child labor around the world. In Egypt and Paraguay, child labor is used in limestone quarries, while in Nepal and Uganda, child labor is used in artisanal quarries. According to the ILO, half a million stone quarry workers in Tamil Nadu, India are considered bonded laborers.

Copper, a versatile material due to its conductivity, resistance to corrosion, along with it flexibility, is often used in our wiring, heating systems, and roofing. In fact, approximately half of the copper supply worldwide is used in buildings. From the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Mexico, workers producing copper are using their hands or rudimentary tools and often work in dangerous mines.

When it comes to glass, a widely-used interior and exterior construction material, there is significant risk that forced labor was used in its mining and production. This commonly-used material poses a significant risk, specifically with regard to child labor used in mining silica, soda ash, and limestone that are the main components of glass used in production.