Sustainable construction: a key step on the path to net zero for life sciences and healthcare companies

In the drive to net zero, companies in the sector will need to find carbon savings where they can. As part of this, consideration should be given to how to build more sustainably when procuring the construction of new facilities or the refurbishment of existing spaces. 

From our experience of working on construction projects across the life sciences and healthcare sector, we have outlined below our top five “hot topics”  for clients operating in the sector to consider when procuring works.

Efficiencies by design

Many parts of the sector require high levels of energy (and therefore carbon) inputs. For example, pharmaceutical companies require products to be produced in tightly regulated microenvironments with controlled air flow, temperature etc. This necessitates energy intensive equipment such as HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and chillers, all of which need to work together and often 24 hours a day. 

However, consideration can be given at the outset of designing product facilities as to how to integrate more sustainable design. Many of these pieces of equipment generate by-products of heat, steam or movement, and such by-products aren’t often currently captured. Designing these pieces so they capture the by-products for re-use in other pieces of equipment can hugely reduce the external energy input needed (along with operational costs).

Regulatory requirements

Real estate in the sector comprises of a mixture of office space, labs of varying grades, high tech manufacturing and research facilities, and patient areas. Each of these brings different construction requirements. The robust regulatory framework in which the sector operates affects construction requirements, particularly for high grade technical facilities. Understandably, the regulators impose stringent safety requirements. 

However, lower carbon methods of constructing often require innovative systems and processes. For example, parties may need to use steel or concrete products produced via new, low carbon, methods. Consideration may also need to be given to different ways of designing items such as floorplates – changed ceiling heights or smaller spaces between load bearing pillars can all reduce the amount concrete or steel needed to construct.

There may be concern in the sector about whether these innovative processes could affect the finished product and whether it will still meet the requirements of the regulator, or the expectations of the patient or resident in a case home setting. The building also needs to still ‘work’ for how the sector operates, e.g. be flexible enough to allow for spaces to change use throughout the lifecycle of a building and as a business grows and develops.

To address these concerns, there will need to be early collaboration between the design team and relevant parts of the business, including any regulatory teams. All involved need to be clear early on as to what the intended uses of the building are and what the required quality and output is. This should enable sustainable, but useful, design to be produced. 

Knowledge intensive

The Life Sciences & Healthcare sector has a highly-skilled and qualified workforce at the forefront of R&D. 

Construction companies in the UK have historically clung to traditional ways of working, due to the small margins involved and contractors are often unwilling to risk significant liabilities for low margins.

However, net zero demands new and different ways of working and contractors are becoming alive to this. Collaboration between the highly skilled employees in the sector and experience of technical professionals within the construction industry could be a great driver of new and innovative methods of working. Given the low margins, relatively small cash pots provided by a client looking to incentivise this behaviour in its construction contract can go a long way to shaping outcomes. 

Energy generation

Life sciences and healthcare real estate is often located in science parks or out of town, areas which tend come with the benefit of more space than central urban buildings. This opens up the possibility of building in on-site renewable energy generation. For example, the large flat rooves common in the sector may lend themselves to solar panels. This is already being implemented successfully in other sectors which tend to be based in similar locations. Alternatively, nearby areas of land may lend themselves to small scale energy generation such as mini wind turbines, or allow for battery storage of energy.  

Co-location near other buildings may also allow for systems such as district heating networks to be effectively utilised. Alternatively, data centres are often based in similar locations and generate heat as an output. Many other European nations are adept at utilising this energy to provide heat to district heating networks. The technology has recently been used in the UK to heat a public swimming pool.  

Projects of this nature do require significant co-operation between tenants and landlords of nearby buildings, and a certainty of supply but are a possible future innovative way of meeting reduced emissions targets. 

Carbon calculating

The carbon emitted in construction works consists of Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Scope 1 and 2 are direct emissions (e.g. direct use of fuel on site or the purchase of energy used to power the works), with Scope 3 being indirect (e.g. the carbon used in producing each individual brick). Scope 3 emissions are estimated to account for around 90% of the carbon emissions in construction and are much more difficult to calculate.

There are currently various standards and measures which can be used to Scope 3, but there are inconsistencies between them. The UK Net Zero Buildings Carbon Standard is looking to change this and create a standardised approach across the real estate sector. It is currently in consultation phase. 

However, the challenge for the Lifesciences and Healthcare sector is that it is unlikely to include items which may be specific to the sector such as lab and medical equipment.

Consideration will need to be given as to how to calculate the carbon inherent in these items so as to properly calculate the emissions involved in construction. 

Summary

The consistent thread running through these hot topics is collaboration, knowledge sharing and early engagement with the design teams and construction professionals involved in the project. Consideration must also be given to how to document and utilise the contracts of the relevant contractors and professional teams to properly drive and incentivise these behaviours. The benefits could be a further step on the path to net zero and also more efficient real estate facilities.