Climate & emissions

To slow the effects of climate change, it is essential that the potential impact of infrastructure schemes is considered right from the start. Failure to address carbon emissions at the earliest project design stages can significantly hamper efforts to reduce their environmental impact, as the choices available to the delivery team diminish as the project […]

Cutting energy use in buildings, ramping up renewable electricity and developing large-scale storage with hydrogen are key tracks to bring energy emissions down to zero by 2050, according to a new study. Buildings renovation, for instance, can bring up to €23 billion worth of savings on energy bills for households. “The debate is no longer […]

Extractive industries are responsible for half of the world’s carbon emissions and more than 80% of biodiversity loss, according to the most comprehensive environmental tally undertaken of mining and farming. A study by UN Environment warns the increasing material weight of the world’s economies is putting a more dangerous level of stress on the climate […]

The ABB factory in Johannesburg, South Africa, is powered by an innovative ‘microgrid’ solution, which ensures a continuous local power supply as well as a reduced reliance on fossil fuels. It provides resilient power to ensure a reliable, 24/7 supply of electricity to the 96,000 square meter Longmeadow facility, which is home to around 1,000 […]

Sustainability is becoming increasingly embedded within the construction sector, but the truth remains that there is still a huge amount of work to do to place the industry on a resource efficient, low-carbon pathway, says a new sector report. The report investigates what must happen next to accelerate this transition and looks at the five […]

The construction firm Multiplex Europe which has an ambition to reduce direct emissions by 30% by 2030 has found positive benefits from implementing carbon targets across its supply chain. Indeed target setting can strengthen relations with the supply chain, asserts the firm’s sustainability manager Pavan Juttla. Setting targets that have the potential to spark large-scale […]

In 2017, the European Commission introduced Level(s) – a new framework of indicators to report on the sustainability performance of buildings. The new reporting system is currently being tested in 136 building projects across 21 countries and the EU has published a progress report. Of the projects testing Level(s), 74 are residential and 62 are […]

Some 160,000 m2 of solar roofing is being installed on two logistic centres in in Győr/Hungary by Audi together with Eon Audi. The roofs will comprise 35,000 solar modules and will have an output of Annual output of more than 9.5 gigawatt hours. The goal of the 12 MW PV rooftop installation is to make […]

A new construction material which is as strong as concrete but has half the carbon footprint has been developed by scientists at Imperial College London. Called Finite, the material is a biodegradable product made from desert sand – a resource that has until now been useless for construction. The breakthrough comes amid increasing concern about the world’s […]

September’s crucial United Nations Climate Summit needs to recognise the importance of buildings and construction in the climate debate. They contribute close to 40 % of global emissions while exacerbating the air pollution that causes some seven million deaths annually. This is view of Joyce Msuya, acting executive director of the U.N. Environment Program; Cristina […]

The Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC) is continuing to promote sustainably sourced concrete through the development of version 2.0 of its innovative certification system. CSC was founded in November 2016 under the direction of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), a sector project within the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Concrete industry partners from Europe, […]

Urban areas occupy only 3 percent of the planet’s surface, but they are responsible for 75 percent of gas emissions. According to projections, by 2050, 6 billion people – or at least 70% of the global population – will be living in metropolitan centres, which might become a living hell, considering the impact climate change has […]