<p>Although numerous studies have examined the impact of various industries on economic growth and environmental quality, few have focused specifically on the construction industry, particularly in China, which is renowned for its infrastructure development. This paper aims to investigate the asymmetric impacts of the construction industry on economic growth and environmental quality using a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model, incorporating urbanization and energy use as control variables. The findings indicate that the construction industry exerts a significant asymmetrical impact on both economic growth and carbon emissions in the short and long term. In the long run, a negative shock in the construction industry significantly hinders economic growth and carbon emissions; a positive shock in the building sector has a positive effect on economic growth, albeit not significantly. Additionally, urbanization has a positive impact on both economic growth and carbon emissions over the long term. In the short run, a positive shock in the construction sector initially suppresses economic growth before stimulating it, while a negative shock initially stimulates economic growth before suppressing it. Regarding carbon emissions, a positive shock has no significant effect, whereas a negative shock increases emissions. This study suggests that policymakers should actively develop standards and policies for green buildings, offer subsidized incentives to promote advanced technologies, and improve the management of energy efficiency and carbon reduction throughout the building life cycle.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>