Sustainable buildings
The shift towards carbon neutrality in construction and real estate impacts developers, occupiers, investors and supply chains. But what makes a building carbon neutral or sustainable?
At the moment there is no industry-wide standard of carbon neutrality. New building standards are being driven by organisations like the UK Green Building Council, whose aim is radically to improve the sustainability of the built environment by transforming the way it is planned, designed, constructed, maintained, operated and repurposed.
Building sustainably
Embodied carbon refers to carbon emissions attributable to a building's construction.
This includes carbon generated by:
- Construction materials
- Construction process e.g transportation, installation
- Demolition of existing buildings or infrastructure
Many businesses will look to reduce their carbon emissions throughout their project and as a last step, may offset to achieve carbon neutral status.
Passive design uses natural energy, such as sunlight or wind, to help with heating and cooling. This might result in features such as tubular skylights, shutters and awnings, and using trees to provide shade.
Advanced sensing and controls, system integration and data analytics can cut energy and water use in line with occupation and activity.
Public transport and the road network dictate the ease of travel to a site throughout construction and operation, contributing to a building's green credentials. Facilities such as car parking and cycle spaces will influence travel choices and ongoing emissions.
Where possible, the demand for water should be reduced, and it should be reused or recycled (or, as a last resort, offset). Methods include the insulation of piping, rainwater harvesting systems, water reclamation systems and the reduction of water pressure.
Techniques to reduce energy use include increased insulation, higher efficiency equipment, automated demand response and dynamic energy optimisation. Existing buildings can be refitted to be more sustainable. Using renewable energy can reduce a building's carbon footprint during its operational phase.
Approaches include:
- Procuring renewable energy via a power purchasing agreement
- Allowing a third party to develop on-site power solutions
- District heating
- Combined heat and power (CHP) systems
Using sustainable and recycled materials in a build reduces the consumption of primary resources, lowers carbon emissions and reduces waste.
During construction, repurposing and recycling on site can be a quick win - e.g. using old floor plates or steel frames from demolished buildings, or finding new uses for stone cladding.
Techniques that can be used to increase biodiversity include:
- Incorporating and protecting green spaces
- Including wildlife spaces - e.g. ponds, beehives, wild flower areas - in the design
- Planting a green roof or green wall
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