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Recent influential reports like the World Economic Forum’s “Global Risks 2017” have identified the failure of climate-change mitigation and adaptation to be among the greatest risks to humanity in the foreseeable future. The construction industry is at the center of this debate. Greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector have more than doubled since 1970 and the industry currently consumes nearly one-third of global energy consumption, making it responsible for about one-third of total direct and indirect energy-related carbon dioxide CO2 emissions. Energy demand in buildings is also predicted to rise by almost 50% between 2010 and 2050 and a 25% reduction in total energy use would represent energy savings of more than 40 exajoules (EJ), equivalent to total annual current energy use in India and Russia combined. Historically, the construction industry has also contributed hugely to environmental pollution, waste, and degradation. For example, in the United Kingdom, construction waste consumes more than 50% of overall landfill volume with 70 million tons of construction waste being discarded annually. Similarly, the US construction industry generates over 100 million tons of construction waste per annum and contributes approximately 29% of the solid waste going to landfill. In Australia, construction activities generate 20%–30% of all the waste entering landfills and in Hong Kong the figure is around 25% which amounts to about 3850 tons per day of construction waste. The construction industry is also a huge consumer of natural resources with approximately 3 billion tons of natural raw materials (40%–50% of the total flow in the global economy) being used each year in the manufacturing of building products and components worldwide. Buildings in use have also been estimated to be responsible for 12% of global water use.