## 4 Conclusions  
This study presents an innovative and simplified methodology for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) aimed at calculating the total Global Warming Potential (GWP) indicator for near-Zero-Energy Buildings (nZEBs). The results demonstrate that constructing buildings based on nZEB principles, in contrast to conventional buildings, significantly reduces both global energy consumption and the carbon footprint due to the fact that energy is generated on-site. Specifically, the renewable energy contribution of the IndUVa building is 67%, surpassing the ambitious energy targets set by the European Union for 2030. This reduction in operational CO2 equivalent emissions is further amplified by the building's use of renewable, highlighting the potential for nZEBs to surpass future sustainability targets. The study also emphasizes the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in calculating CO2 equivalent emissions, particularly in the context of operational emissions. Over the course of 50 years, operational CO2 emissions--represented by the operational GWP indicator--are remarkably low, confirming that the shift towards highly energy-efficient buildings drastically reduces emissions during their use phase. Notably, operational emissions contribute only 31% of the total GWP, whereas the remaining 69% is attributed to embodied emissions. This disparity underscores a crucial finding: as operational emissions are reduced, embodied emissions, which originate during the construction, material transportation, and manufacturing phases, become the dominant source of a building's life cycle carbon footprint. It is important to emphasize that the IndUVa building incorporates 63.8% recycled materials, demonstrating the effectiveness of circular economy principles in mitigating embodied emissions. The results of this study challenge previous assumptions, which often neglected embodied emissions in the environmental impact assessment of buildings. While earlierstudies focused primarily on operational energy use, the current research highlights the growing importance of embodied emissions, both in absolute terms and as a relative contribution to the overall life cycle impacts. As such, it becomes evident that a holistic approach to building sustainability must account for both operational and embodied energy consumption, with a clear emphasis on reducing the latter through sustainable practices in the early design and construction phases. This study confirms that reducing the energy demand of buildings should be considered a mandatory and maximum priority in efforts to achieve Zero-Emission Buildings (ZEBs), in alignment with the recent updates to the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). A focus on reducing operational energy consumption should be closely followed by a rigorous assessment and reduction of embodied energy during the building's design phase. The choice of materials, the transportation of those materials, their maintenance, and their potential for recycling and reuse will all have an increasing influence on the overall GWP indicators as energy-efficiency improvements reduce operational emissions. Moreover, this study also highlights the positive impact of integrating circular economy techniques into building design. The results clearly demonstrate that the implementation of circular economy strategies, particularly the use of low-carbon materials and recycling practices, significantly reduces embodied emissions in nZEBs. As the percentage of low-carbon materials used in construction increases, the embedded GWP indicator decreases, while operational emissions--already at a very low value--become the more significant contributor. However, it remains critical that materials selected for construction undergo a thorough environmental analysis to minimize the impact during the building's pre-use phase.