Anna Storgaard
November 3, 2026
Ramboll Foundation strengthens partnership with Built by Nature to accelerate city-led biobased construction
The Ramboll Foundation has awarded new funding to Built by Nature to support a pioneering initiative that will help cities accelerate the adoption of responsible timber and wider biobased construction materials across the built environment.
The new support builds on the Foundation’s previous investment in the implementation framework behind the Principles for Responsible Timber Construction, strengthening a shared commitment to transforming the built environment through practical action, collaboration and innovation.
Delivered in partnership with the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA), the new initiative, Cities Challenge: City-Led Pathways to Biobased and Low-Carbon Construction, will help cities develop practical strategies to reduce embodied carbon in construction through the responsible use of timber and other biobased materials.
Helping cities scale low-carbon and timber construction
As cities across Europe work towards ambitious climate targets, construction materials remain one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions. Through the Cities Challenge, participating municipalities will explore solutions across procurement, planning, policy, regulation, workforce development and market engagement.
The programme aims to help cities create the conditions needed to scale sustainable construction, accelerate the uptake of biobased materials and support the transition towards net zero buildings and a more circular built environment.
Three winning cities will be announced in December, with selected proposals demonstrating the strongest potential to accelerate low-carbon construction, biobased materials adoption and responsible timber construction at scale.
Supporting the transition to a sustainable built environment
The initiative comes at a pivotal moment for the construction sector. As global attention increasingly focuses on embodied carbon, circular economy construction, and nature-positive development, cities are emerging as some of the most influential actors in driving market transformation.
Insights generated through the challenge will support wider efforts to expand the use of sustainable building materials, while informing future pathways towards decarbonising the built environment – a key area of discussion for the upcoming COP31 in Ankara, Türkiye.
We are delighted to continue our partnership with the Ramboll Foundation. Their support has already helped transform the Principles for Responsible Timber Construction from an important industry commitment into a practical framework for action. This latest investment recognises a simple but profound reality: cities will shape the future of construction. As the world works to deliver more than one billion new homes by 2050, the choices made by city leaders today will determine whether that growth locks in emissions or accelerates a more sustainable future.
Driving responsible timber and biobased construction at scale
Building on the previous partnership, the renewed collaboration reflects a shared belief that transforming construction requires more than individual buildings. Lasting change depends on cities, industry and civil society working together to create the policies, markets and confidence needed for responsible timber construction, sustainable construction materials and biobased construction to thrive.
Through the Cities Challenge, Built by Nature, CNCA and the Ramboll Foundation aim to accelerate the transition to a lower-carbon, more resilient and more sustainable built environment, demonstrating how cities can lead the shift towards timber-based construction, carbon reduction and net zero carbon buildings.