Climate & emissions

Could disruptive technologies dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of concrete? New methods of making concrete show that it’s possible. Here are three innovations that could drastically cut the carbon footprint of construction. Concrete is the most manufactured material in the world – it is also a major contributor to global carbon emissions. The high carbon […]

A new effort to rally governments and corporations behind technologies that suck greenhouse gases from the atmosphere to help stave off disastrous global heating will be launched at the United Nations on Tuesday. The first annual Global Climate Restoration Forum, held in New York, aims to spur international support for emerging and sometimes controversial methods […]

It’s well known that the production of cement—the world’s leading construction material—is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for about 8 percent of all such releases. If cement production were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest emitter. A team of researchers at MIT has come up with a new way of […]

Heidelberg Cement has signed a memorandum of understanding with multinational energy giant Equinor, in a bid to scale up its efforts in the field of carbon capture and storage (CCS). Heidelberg’s Norwegian arm, Norcem, has been running a small trial CCS project at its cement plant in Brevik since 2011. Called “Northern Lights” and backed […]

Melbourne’s tram network – the largest in the world – will soon be entirely solar powered as the city looks to implement the State of Victoria’s Renewable Energy Action Plan. While commuters won’t see actual panels on the city’s 400 trams, the electricity the network requires to operate with will be offset by certificates purchased […]

The Envision Platinum Certification has been award to Skanska, lead partner in the Skanska-Walsh construction joint venture for the LaGuardia Airport Terminal B Redevelopment. Envision recognizes projects that lead the industry in their approach to sustainable and resilient infrastructure development. Envision Platinum is the highest level of recognition within ISI’s awards programme. The LaGuardia Terminal […]

The world’s most powerful’ tidal turbine, the “O2” turbine, is expected to come into operation in the latter half of 2020, at the European Marine Energy Centre in Scotland. There, it will undergo a two-year test period before being brought to market. The commercial production unit is being developed with support from the EU’s Horizon […]

Green walls formed of shelves of plants instead of glass/steel facades are a key feature of the Green Villa in the Dutch city of Sint-Michielsgestel. The three-storey housing block will follow the mansard roof shape of the neighbouring building, but its entire frontage will be covered in giant rows of shelves covered in greenery. A […]

An innovative office extension which adds a prefabricated low energy penthouse unit has been pioneered in France. The result is a 945 m2 SDP timber framed terrace added to an occupied office building at an industrial park at Bron, near Lyon. The rooftop unit has developed over 6 months off-site with wooden walls and joinery […]

A district heating system for London is being created using waste heat from the ‘Tube’, its massive underground mass transit network. The first phase of the project is due to be completed in the coming months, will extend the network to some 450 homes is the Islington borough area. The first phase of the project […]

IKEA, Skanska in collaboration with the Queen of Sweden have launched a social housing project. The first ‘SilviaBo’ apartments are currently being completed outside Stockholm and use a variation of IKEA’s modular BoKlok housing concept. Named SilviaBo, the housing project is being developed in Sweden by IKEA, Skanska and Silviahemmet, a dementia-care foundation established by Queen Silvia of Sweden. The project […]

As global temperatures rise it is predicted that around two thirds of the world’s households could have an air conditioner by 2050. The demand for energy to cool buildings will triple. But unless the energy comes from renewable sources, all that added demand will generate more greenhouse gas emissions and as a consequence hotter summers. […]