Rapid urbanisation across the world is resulting in significant shortage of houses in the metro cities. Recent earthquakes have exhibited poor performance of code complied structures resulting in significant loss of life and property. To address this issue, the earthquake resistant design codes of practices are increasing the section sizes and reinforcement requirements. Increased section sizes and reinforcement is necessary for structural safety, but, at the same time, the material consumption is drastically increasing. Increased material utilisation is having adverse effects on the environment with increase in the carbon footprint. For a small to medium size construction project, an alternative construction practice to conventional reinforced concrete construction, referred to as confined masonry, can be adopted. This approach is economical and environment friendly. In this paper the conventional reinforced concrete construction in compliance with enforced earthquake design code is compared with the confined masonry construction practice in terms of material quantities and environmental impact. It is observed that the cement and reinforcement consumption can be reduced without compromising the earthquake resilience, resulting in an environmentally sustainable development, in addition, the reduced cost of construction make the structure economically affordable than the conventional structures.