Thanks for the neat write-up I can only agree with; buildings have so much energy savings potential, from the embodied and consumed energy in and during their construction, their operational expenditure and in decommissioning.

As for the operational energy expenditure (heating & cooling), the most important factor is insulation value times the temperature difference. The latter is not controllable, the former is. Insulation or appropriate building materials does not need huge capital expenditure but will result in saving energy.

Another aspect to take into account is the potential of refurbishment. Rather than destroying and rebuilding, make use of the embodied energy in existing buildings and add an insulating blanked, figuratively.

More thoughts from a UK perspective on https://peter-wurmsdobler.medium.com/changing-the-face-of-a-country-for-the-sake-of-energy-efficiency-e3d564f9a0b