The construction industry has long been linked to issues of forced labor and carbon emissions—but this is slowly changing. Partially to blame is the scale of the built environment;the construction industry accounted for over 13 percent of global gross domestic product and nearly 40 percent of carbon emissions (28 percent from operations emissions and 11 percent from materials and construction). According to an International Labour Organization report published in 2022, a vast web of contractors and fabricators, numbering at least 200 million globally, support the construction industry; and, while a precise figure is difficult to nail down, a significant share of the 28 million people worldwide suffering under forced labor conditions, and over 150 million subject to child labor, form a shadow economy subsidizing the sprawling sector.
